Long Mynd
The Shropshire Way
Dotterel
Dotterel
Female Pied Flycatcher
Male Pied Flycatcher
Dipper
Common Redstart
Yellow Wagtail
After really looking forward to a good Easter break I ripped my hamstring on Thursday evening at circuit training which felt like being shot on the back of the leg. However the report of Dotterel on the Long Mynd made me just pass an early morning fitness test (well I could hobble) and head off to Shropshire picking up Upton birders Phil and Vern on the way.
Despite it being a Bank Holiday we seemed to be ahead of the traffic and quickly made our way to the location. Some of the roads were very high with very steep banks so that kept us entertained. About 25/30 birders were already roadside but the views were very distant. A jogger however, running where he shouldn't have been flushed the birds a bit closer to enable everyone to get good scope views. I counted 11 birds including 4 stunning females. I wanted to see these birds for a long time so I was seriously pleased. Red Kites, Sky Larks and Meadows Pipits were also observed all around us.
From here we headed to some quiet woodland to try and locate some more migrants. This small channel of woodland was like a bit of paradise as it contain multiple Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, Dipper (seen twice), Kestrel, Goldcrest, Nuthatches …….it was brilliant and we had the place to ourselves for plenty of time. A local walker kindly pointed out a distant bird which when scoped it was my first Cuckoo of the year. Over head we had Buzzards, Curlews and Raven.
On the way home we stopped in at Venus Pool for an hour and managed to get some stunning views of 6 Yellow Wagtails feeding on the ground close to edge of one of the lakes which also held Teal, Oystercatcher, Lapwing among others.
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