Today's still, blue weather with great visibilty made it a first try for Gos this year for me. It didn't take long for a pair to get up and start displaying with a third bird slipping off through the trees and a fourth much more distant bird. Interestingly, the first two up persuaded a pair of Sparrowhawks to follow suit with the more distant bird of the two stooping at the male Gos albeit briefly. Sadly, the supporting cast was a bit thin with just a single singing Woodlark and a few Thrushes.
Later, at Blashford, one of those 'Damn!! I wish I could draw moments' when a hunting Peregrine sat perched up on one of the small cairns adjacent to Tern Hide for 40 minutes, all head-bobbing, fluffed up, drooped wings and fan-tailed presumably drying off from attempting to take duck off the water.
A catch up for the first time this year with John and Jim but precious little on the east side; a colour ringed LBBG on Ivy Lake was too far to read numbers, white on black, so I'm guessing Channel Islands.
Back at Ibsley Water, probably 20 or so Goosanders, 4 or more Med Gulls with one acting as a pointer to a near-adult Caspian Gull called by Nigel and Simon - I don't think I would have been confident to ID this for certain on my own.
Also, a Ring-billed Gull which, along with many other gulls, was flushed towards Lapwing Hide by a group of fishing Cormorants. The White-fronted Goose was on west shore and earlier the Black-necked Grebe was at the north end. Maybe 9 or so Goldeneyes and a couple of Red Kites, one fairly close in.
