There had been a Glossy Ibis
and Purple Heron reported over the last few days at the RSPB Ouse Washes
reserve. So not having seen a Purple
Heron in the UK since 2008, David, Roger and I decided to go.
We arrived on site and walked
the short distance to kingfisher hide.
The area was still flooded and looked ideal for wading birds but the
news was not good as neither the Purple Heron or the Glossy Ibis had been seen. The light was also poor as we tending to look
east into the sun. There were clearly
plenty of wader present and we soon identified Ruff, Sparrowhawk, Greenshank
and Redshank. I then picked up a
juvenile Spoonbill in flight, which was flying amongst a large party of Little
Egrets. We had at least three juvenile
Marsh Harriers, which constantly caused havoc as they patrolled the skies over
the marsh. Further scanning produced a
number of Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and two Turnstone and I found a single Little
Ringed Plover and ten Black-tailed Godwits flew in. Shortly after this during one of the harrier
disturbances Roger thought he caught a glimpse of the Glossy Ibis and shortly
afterwards it was picked up in flight and landed to the left of the hide, where
it spent some time feeding.
We had seen a Great Spotted
Woodpecker as we left the centre and two Green Woodpeckers flew in front of the
hide followed by two Kingfishers.
We walked to the next hide
where there were plenty of Grey Herons visible but there was still no sign of
the Purple Heron. Roger then saw
something further down, which he thought looked a little browner, although the
heat haze made it possible to tell so we walked to the next hide.
We soon located the birds in
the reeds and identified it as another Grey Heron. There were eight Garganey and a couple of
Pintail in front of this hide and we had more Ruff.
It was now lunchtime so we
returned to the car park where we had lunch before going back for another
attempt for the Purple Heron.
Juvenile Marsh Harrier
The light was much better now
the sun had moved over towards the west and it continued to improve during the
rest of the stay. The Purple Heron had
still not been seen and did not put in an appearance during our stay.
The afternoon produced a
Sparrowhawk, Hobby and a Peregrine and we had further view of the Spoonbill,
waders and Kingfishers but nothing else.
WE finally called it day and set off for home.
Cormorant with tench
Cormorant with tench
Juvenile Marsh Harrier
Juvenile Marsh Harrier
Juvenile Marsh Harrier
Hobby
Kingfisher
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