Yesterday at the edge of the percolation pond I found three European Rollers. They were initially sitting in the trees surrounding the pond before flying out and resting in the scrub between the pond and the spray fields. European Roller is uncommon in the area, but birds are more often seen in the autumn than in the spring and this is the first time I have seen three together. All my sightings have been single birds with the exception of one sighting of two, so three together was a nice site. Apart from the European Rollers there were a few other good birds including a first year Citrine Wagtail on the small stream along with one Little Stint, one Common Greenshank, one Green Sandpiper and three Little Ringed Plovers. Citrine Wagtail os also scarce on the 'patch' with first year birds in the autumn being the only ones seen so far although I am expecting an adult in the spring sometime soon. The percolation pond held one Western Cattle Egret, one Green Sandpiper and the two Glossy Ibis which were back after going missing for a day. They were over the back of the pond this time so no photos were obtained. Two White-winged Terns were flying about which were the first of the autumn and made a very nice end to a good days birding.
 |
| European Roller - first bird |
.jpg) |
| European Roller - first bird |
.jpg) |
| European Roller - second bird |
