Sometimes the best birding days are the ones which start the worst.
With rain threatening later in the morning, I resolved to rise early and attack as much of the Draycote Reservoir site as I could before the cyclist, joggers and dog walkers arrived.
Oversleeping until 8am wasn't a great start, but arriving to find a fun run in its early stages was significantly worse. I didn't care how many avian riches the site may have been holding, I needed a Plan B.
I chose nearby Napton Reservoir in the hope of one or two Spring migrants, but I arrived to find it apparently barren of birds and also shorn to within an inch of its life by an overzealous chainsaw attack around the margins on two sides. I'm sure there's a good reason for this (it's happened once before in recent years) but I'm at a loss to see what it is.
Anyway, on with the birding. It was painfully slow to start with, but I perservered with a full circuit and eventually dug out my first Sedge Warbler of the year, skulking in the reeds at the very back of the site.
A good sized group of Swallows, perhaps a dozen in all, arrived shortly after, their ebulliant clicks and chirps the most welcome sound imaginable.
With the arrival of an early Common Tern things were clearly picking up, and although rain was now threatening I resolved to hang on a bit longer and see if I could relocate an unidentified wagtail I'd glimpsed half an hour earlier. Patience was soon rewarded as an immaculate Yellow Wagtail landed not 20 yards from me, and then proceeded to show well for the next 10 minutes or more.
Add to all of that some great views of a female Sparrowhawk, a Bullfinch pair, a singing Blackcap, Reed Buntings right across the site and some gorgeous Skylark display flights, and you have a wonderful day forged from the least promising of beginnings.
Four year ticks take my 2018 total to 113.
Bird of the day: Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava), a bird I absolutely adore. Absolutely immaculate at this time of year, with its breast and underparts a brilliant yellow that puts even a Yellowhammer in the shade. Can be hard to find around here as a breeding bird, but slightly easier during Spring or Autumn migration. Nearby Draycote is a favoured site, this is my first (I think) at Napton.
