Castle Lake re-visited - June birding at its very best.

Without doubt THE Premier birding location in the County..... and without doubt THE Very best month to be out birding

11:00 - 16:30 today yielded an excellent array of 87 species, with some quality local birds and a few surprises thrown in for good measure.

The 87 noted, from Davisons farmyard, graveyard, Lake, Stell, Railway, Fishburn Lake & back via Island Farm / Allans pool.

Castle Lake
2 Little Egret

2 Black necked Grebe

female Pintail

Cuckoo feeding from fence for 20 mins,

sub-adult Hobby hunting for 3-4 mins late morning,
2 Green Sandpiper,
1 Common Sandpiper,
8 Little ringed Plover (1 juv),
1 Kingfisher,
4-5 Teal,
3 Redshank (1 juv),
4 Kestrel up together,
several juv Yellow Wagtail,
3 Shoveller,
2 Crossbill over,
minimum of 7 broods of Gadwall including a huge brood of 20 ducklings,
2+Spotted Flycatcher at edge of village green, Town End Farm,

11+ Pochard plus a female with a single duckling (first breeding on site).

Fishburn Lake / Railway line / Allans Pool
2 Little Egret feeding & roosting in trees, single Crossbill over, brood of 5 Gadwall ducklings, 2 Willow Tit families,
1 Lesser Whitethroat singing, Sedge Warbler family at lake, Gropper reeling, 1 Little Owl (seem to have dropped off in BM area ?), Lapwing with small young,
singing Corn Bunting, 12+Tree Sparrow, Curlew, Treecreeper, Stock Dove family, GSWpkr, Bullfinch singing,
1 Cuckoo mobbed by several species,

3-4 Four Spotted Chasers, single Bee Orchid & several Pyramidal Orchids.

Notable omissions on the day-list included:-
Peregrine, Buzzard, Green Wpkr, Goldcrest, Snipe