Sunday, November 11, 2012
A cold but beautiful morning tempted me out to walk the length of the wetlands. Nearing the weir, I heard the lovely call of a green sandpiper and the wader came flying over low, giving good views in the bright sunshine.
Looking over the Roundmoor Ditch from the common, I could see a little grebe on the flood and was trying to photograph it through the branches when I caught sight of a pipit foraging in the mud beyond.
I'm not good at pipits. I was sure it wasn't a meadow pipit because of the long bill and greyish colour; but was it rock or water? Both species had been reported here recently.
A pied wagtail chased the bird, but this proved useful as the pipit flew up into the willow and started to preen. It looked even greyer in the tree, with broad smoky streaks on its chest and flanks.
Oddly enough, it looked more like a rock pipit when it was in the tree. Anyway, the camera battery was running out so I walked back across the common, flushing a grey heron and four Egyptian geese from the muddy ground near the hedge.
// posted by Christine @ 6:58 AM 
