gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

I didn’t do much birding on the 18th. I had lunch with Margaret in town. She has asked for a second shed for her birthday next week so much of the time was taken organising delivery etc.

In the mid-afternoon I called in at Longham Lakes as a flock of 11 White Wagtails had been seen in the morning. Soon after I arrived the heavens opened, but I thought as I’m here now, I might as well press on. The wagtails were in a ploughed field near the lake and the presence of half a dozen local breeding Pied Wagtails allowed for direct comparison. In the end I counted 17 plus about 20 Stock Doves.

White Wagtails are the nominate race of the Pied/White complex are only considered a species in their own right by the Dutch. I have received a few ‘why bother, you can’t count those’ comments from other birders but I think that is missing the point. Spring White Wagtails with their crisp grey and black plumage are beautiful birds and I never seen anything like this number in spring in the UK before. I wonder if they were on their way to Scandinavia or Iceland.

I didn't take my camera with me as it was tipping down, but here is a White Wagtail I photographed two years ago in Armenia.