A bit late up, but still a good morning out

Feldegg male Yellow wagtail posing in front of the hide

Woke up at 5.30 in the morning, only to see the rain pouring down...crept into bed again and slept for two more hours. Shouldn't have tough, lost a small passage of Grey herons which stopped soon before I finally got to Ghadira nature reserve.

Also a few Marsh harriers were passing by, one as soon as I stepped down from the bus, and five more latter. As well as a small number Lesser Kestrels came in over the Marfa ridge in singles and small groups.

The highlight of the day was definetly an Osprey which passed overhead quite high but as always very happy to see this magnificent bird.

Down in the reserve a Black-winged Stilt was feeding, together with 3 Little-ringed Plovers, 2 Common and 2 Green sandpipers completing the wader list which is rather lacking so far this year.

Barn Swallows and House Martins were plentiful as well as a few Sand martins, giving that special feeling of spring as they fly all over the place low over the water. Also fun was a foraging flock of some 30 Yellow wagtails giving the reserve a lot of colour and life with their flurry of activity. Various sub-species present; feldegg, flava, dombrowskii, thunbergi and superciliaris all there.

A Kingfisher giving good views was yet another colourful addition to the day's list. A Coot was a good sighting not being that usual a visitor at the reserve any longer. To finish off one or two Subalpine warbers in the bushes, Chiffchaffs busy feeding and 3 Reed Buntings flying up from the side of the track.