Cuckoo at last

My son was awake very early today and at 04:45 I decided it was pointless trying to nod off again, so had a cuppa and went out just after 5 and sure enough on arrival could hear Cuckoo from the layby.
The breeze was cold as I marched down to LFGP and on arrival at the gate realised it was too dark for me to see without my reading glasses to unlock the padlocks, I took pictures with my iphone on flash and zoomed in to figure out which barrel needed rotating and despite it taking 2-3 attempts was soon unlocked and in the hide.
A lone Common Sandpiper, 2 Common Tern seemed to be it, until a male Mandarin went over calling low North. Reed Warbler never stopped calling and neither did the Cuckoo, but it wasn't until I got back to my car before I saw it.
In Lavell's car park a female Mandarin circled over calling heading low East, then towards the balancing pool, but then round towards Lavell's, convincing me I should check Tern scrape....I needn't have bothered, there was nothing to see. Sandford had the pair of Oystercatcher and same pair of Shoveler.
I did a comparison of my list by 30th April 2012 and was on 122, so even though the year is going really well, I am 5 behind! Okay, add Lesser Whitethroat and Little-ringed Plover sooner or later, but I need some waders and a passage raptor soon to catch up, not forgetting LSW!

April highs

With todays work party taking priority I wasn't out to see the 3 Cuckoo Trev saw at 07:30 over LFGP, a Teal was still present when we arrived to clear the SW corner weeds and willow, plus give the shingle island a rake up, with an attempt to make a few nesting spots an inch or 3 higher by pushing shingle into mini piles.....hard bloomin work, but nowhere near as hard trying to row back against the breeze, I'm told it's all technique.
Anyway, Saturday all I had just an hour and had a second summer Great Black-backed Gull over NW, 2 Common Sandpiper and 1 Teal on LFGP, heard a couple of Reed and Garden Warbler around Lavell's, 1 Linnet over calling, then 30-40 Swallow, House & Sand Martin over BSL.
What I missed was a Raven, Mandarin along the Loddon and allegedly Ring-necked Parakeet somewhere, all in all, if we take all these as genuine sightings, which is fair, then the new April highest ever species count is 112, with 3 days left, we might even add another wader species yet.

Offsite county tick

No question was I going for the Bonapart's Gull on Hosehill, here are a few shots;

Hirundines

An earlier start today, out at LFGP by 07:30, not much to speak of though, 1 female Teal, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Common Sandpiper. So off to Sandford, usual pair of Oystercatcher, 4 Shoveler, a pair looking like they were prospecting the area, 2 males following them bobbing their heads. 5 Common Tern, 1 Gadwall.
On past Middle Marsh to BSL where 3 Nightingales sang, as did plenty of Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler and Cetti's showed briefly, another calling nearby, several Sedge Warbler, another Reed Warbler on the West bank point and a few short calls of a certain other species.
A look across the lake and at last a handful of hirundines, 10+ Swallow, 2 Sand Martin, 2 House Martin, 2 Swift. Cuckoo is proving elusive for me at the moment, as is LRP and Lesser Whitethroat, so I remain 5 behind the park.

I can't believe I did it

Okay time to fess up, I went on Radio Berks and when Anne Diamond asked me to imitate a bird song, I went for it and gave a bad Nightingale and an even worse Curlew...you can listen to the horror from roughly 2:39 minuites in on this link until 30th April
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016zfx4
I have nothing more to say

Record shot of the month

I nearly forgot to post the Wheatear shot I took at LFGP about a week ago, its priceless, but in my opinion still obviously a Wheatear.

Two more

I missed the Cuckoo again, but we saw 2 Swift drifting North East of Lavell's and the landfill, then at Teal Hide we could hear Reed Warbler.
My predictions based on previous years suggest I should get a minimum of 8 more birds, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Little-ringed Plover, Cuckoo, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail and Spotted Flycatcher, all going well, a few more waders, terns and passerines may grace our patch.
The year list is now 120 for the park, 116 for me, a total so far of 107 for the month, 2nd highest ever and with 6 days left, we might beat the 109 record, by adding Ring-necked Parakeet, Garganey, other Terns, Whinchat, one of the above mentioned waders, or Whimbrel, Curlew, Dunlin....fingers crossed.