Shoveler

A walk around the patch on Sunday morning, produced a new bird for the site in the shape of a male Shoveler with the Lesser Whistling Ducks, this is only the fourth species of wildfowl I have recorded on the site, with Lesser Whislting Duck, Cotton Pygmy Goose and Garganey the others. At least one of the Chestnut-winged Cuckoo's and the Hoopoe were still present and along with at least 20 Black-naped Orioles still. A cuckoo species, probably Oriental was seen very briefly and a migrant Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher. A male Bluethroat was present along one of the bunds and was the first I have seen here for sometime, nearby a Lanceolated Warbler showed well scuttling through the grass just a few feet in front of me. Other species seen included three Black-capped Kingfishers, 12 Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, six Ruddy-breasted Crakes, nine Pintail Snipe, 17 Whiskered Terns, three Purple Herons, a Long-tailed Shrike, 15 Pied Fantail, five Eastern Stonechat, four Red-rumped Swallow, eight Golden Weaver and five Plain-backed Sparrows.