It’s amazing what half an hour out on site at Langford can produce! Today volunteers Dave Watt, Sarah Bird and myself had spent all day working in the polytunnel finishing off the reed propagation bays and building and fitting new doors, when we decided - late afternoon - that it was time for a quick look out on site.
Making our way around Phase 2, we noticed a small, slim and very fast falcon hunting over the water. There was only one thing that could be….the first Langford hobby of 2012. And what a beautiful bird it is – with it’s pristine black and white plumage and red ‘trousers’, we watched as it hunted small passerines, finally getting it’s meal and heading off into the distance.
Further round Phase 2, a brief look at a small flock of greylag geese revealed a single pink-footed goose among them. This is the first time I have seen pink-footed goose ‘on the deck’ at Langford – they are usually seen passing over in flocks on migration. This is quite a late individual, although on occasions they are seen in the county into May.
The regular flock of pied wagtails on the new landscaping once again produced some white wagtails, their continental European counterparts. The males are looking stunning at this time of year, with their sharply contrasting black and white head and light grey mantle.
On our way back to the workshop, a characteristic white rump showed itself, flying away from us and onto a nearby bund – a wheatear. We watched as a further two birds joined it and fed on the bund in front of us in the company of up to five yellow wagtails.
Not bad for a quick trip out and we even managed to avoid the rain!