Birding Group visit to Pennington Flash 18 April 2023

The first birding group outing of the Spring Term was to Penningtion Flash on a lovely, sunny morning. In all we got half a dozen new year ticks and also had a chance to visit the new cafe and toilets that have recently opened there. What more could you wish for?

We arrived a little bit early at Pennington which gave us an opportunity to check out the new toilet facilities which we found to be much improved although it is hard to believe that they have reduced the number of people who can use them at one time! It will be interesting to see how they stand up to long-term use. We did notice, however, that there seem to be volunteers who look after the hides and – presumably – the loos as well.

There were the usual ducks etc. but in smaller numbers than in winter. A fair sized group of Sand Martins were feeding just above the water and on the spit there was a single Little RInged Plover – a year tick. New birds for the year were largely in the woodlands where we got good views of a Blackcap. At the Bunting hide we got the usual Stock Doves and Bullfinches but also year tick Willow Tit and Coal TIt. There were also Reed Bunting and Cetti’s Warbler but food was a bit sparse and, as usual these days, largely dominated by Grey Squirrels.

The highlights of the Bunting hide, however, werereally good views of a Treecreeper gathering nesting material from a recumbant log right in front of the hde. This was probably the closest view of a Treecreeper and certainly a change from seeing them go up and down tree trumks which is the usual view. Good sunlight helped in showing its plumage to best advantage – again something you don’t always see in detail.

All in all, quite a god morning with Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush and Blackbirds all singing. A couple of Buzzards and a Kestrel added to the mix and a Kingfisher flying along the brook was another bonus.

Bird Sightings : Pennington Flash 18 April 2023