I quick update from Hodbarrow today. With small window of good weather there is plenty going on.
Having a chat with one of the regulars on the reserve we heard an all might racket going over head and were greeted with a large flock of Whooper swans landing in the lagoon and making themselves know. Altogether there were 70+ of these noisy swans on the lagoon. Other highlights included the usual redshank with snipe and turnstones in amongst them. Plenty of wildfowl with widgeon, mallard, teal, pochard, gadwall, mergansers and a solitary eider visible from the hide. Also with a bit of looking there a 2 little grebe out and about on the main lagoon.
As I went to return to the car for lunch I stopped on the sea wall and for some reason had a good look through the teal. I suppose I had in my mind the green-winged teal we had last year. The reward for a good wee while looking through the telescope wasthe vertical wing bar of the green-winged teal shining through. This more than made up for the lack of Slavonian Grebe on the reserve - although I don't suppose they are too far away if they are the same birds that wintered here last year.