Continuing from yesterday we decided to walk the majority of the Rother Valley, that is from Whiston through to RVCP. It was in the back of my mind that there's quite a few likely Cetti's spots along the river and if the invasion was as anticipated then at least a couple of sites should come good. Whiston Meadows was not one of the likely sites but held a flock of 34 Wigeon and several Snipe. Bolehill Flash however was one of the likely sites having a good mix of phragmites, rush and damp willow. Sure enough just as we were about to leave a male Cetti's gave us a quick loud blast only a few feet away. Several more short burts of song and a few sharp calls I still hadn't seen it. A quick blast from the ipod did nothing to encourage it out but amazingly drew the attention of another male about 25 yards behind us, frustratingly neither bird showed so we headed off towards Catcliffe Flash via the Railway Pond. Unfortunately we didn't spend enough time here and by the time I got to Treeton Roy was ringing me to let me know he'd found one there! Further sites i.e. Treeton, Woodhouse Washlands and a brief look at Pit-house West failed to produce, but news of another male at Blackburn Meadows suggested that there's no doubt lots more to be found yet.
An evening visit to Pit-house West failed to produce any Cetti's and no Bitterns but at least three Water Rails.
1 comment:
Hi Mark,
All this talk of a Cetti's 'invasion' in your area poses the much-pondered question as to when this species will make its first move towards colonisation of Ireland...both accepted national records have been since 2002, in spring, but how many silent birds have we overlooked...?
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