30 March 2023 - Hollingworth Lake

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6 Oystercatchers, 3 or 4 Chiffchaffs, Treecreeper, Coal Tit

Mild, overcast, slight breeze.

I heard the familiar call of Oystercatcher as I walked along Rakewood Road this morning, and scanned around trying to find the bird in question. I was somewhat taken aback to see a group of 6 birds going overhead in a northerly direction.  Around the lake fringes there were 3, perhaps 4 Chiffchaffs singing, and as I reached the south-east end of the lake by the Bib Knowl valley wall, I heard a strange song which I first thought might be a Willow Warbler in sub-song, but when I looked up, realised it was a Treecreeper in full song!

A little further on, a couple of Lapwings posed on the flat stony shoreline at the far end of the wall, and close to Peanock Farm, a Coal Tit appeared and sat up atop a stem long enough for me to rattle off some decent shots. It was feeding on a small larva of some kind, which kept it in position for a few seconds. Normally  they're constantly on the move and hard to photograph.

Lapwing , 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 472 mm, ISO 640 (view full size image)

Lapwing, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 472 mm, ISO 800 (view full size image)

Coal Tit, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 2500 (view full size image)