9th April and a friend and I decided to try Grafham Water. Haven't been there for a while and others had taken shots of Little Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail and even a Black Tern.

Arriving at the dam, the only bird on the waterline was a very flighty Common Sandpiper but we walked to the water tower never-the-less. On the way back we saw the Common Sandpiper again (was it the same one) because this was very co-operative, feeding and posing right in front of us.

Very unusual for the species that are renowned for being flighty.

Moving on the the harbour, there was nothing of note, so we carried on to the hide at Mander. Nothing here either, mainly due to the very high water level but there was a flock of feeding Black-headed Gulls of various ages, mostly too distant.

So, earlier than we expected, we moved onto to nearby Stirtloe to see of  any migrants had arrived. And here we were disappointed again as the only bird showing was a Chiffchaff.

So,overall, not a very auspcious day again. Perhaps with the changing wind direction, things will improve.