14th May - rain at night, becoming sunny and warm, 20C, light SW

Village area;  The Goldcrest is still singing, today in the church yard Yew tree.  To the east of the village a Whitethroat was singing in the roadside hedge and a Lesser Whitethroat was singing in another field hedge. I have heard 3 different Lesser Whitethroats in the village area this year.

Shawell Lagoons; this morning the Whooper Swan was still present with a single cob Mute Swan.  I wonder if it has paired with it, I believe they may.  A Little-ringed Plover was busy feeding along the shore.  There was not much on the water, 2 Great-crested grebes still, a few Tufted Duck and a mallard pair with 4 ducklings.  A few Swallows and Sand Martins hawked over the water.

Paxton Pits; This afternoon I decided to journey to Paxton Pits - a good place to hear/see Nightingales. It was pretty sunny and warm when I arrived and I thought I would definitely hear one at least.  Plenty of Blackcap, garden Warblers, Chiffchaff and Whitethroat were singing well, a Cuckoo was calling near the river, and a female was heard too.  Both green and Great-spotted Woodpeckers were around and a Kingfisher flew over the bushes from the river to one of the lakes.

I positioned myself at places I know the Nightingales have been heard in the past and waited. At one place another fellow said he had heard one earlier.  However, after a couple of hours I still had not heard one.  It would seem I may have to try again another day.


I took this photo of the Pied Wagtail the other day when it was feeding its young in the nest, today the enst was empty, so presumably they have fledged and left the nest.