Herts bird trip

A trip around Herts hotspots today, beginning in good sunshine at Amwell and then Kings Mead, Broxbourne Woods and ending in horizontal stair rods at Tyttenhanger gravel pits. Good birds at each stop. At Amwell I came across a female/1st year redstart which I excitedly reported to the text service for good birds only to be informed it had been present since Sunday! 3 photos here, the first showing the elder bush it favours. A few teal, 100's of canada geese and coots + several lesser black backed gulls, lapwings and great crested grebes. 2 common sandpipers flew through, the only waders. At Kings Mead, under the A10 flyover, stock dove, sand and house martin and reed bunting were added to the list before a quick trip to Broxbourne Woods near Brickendon. Very little before 4 crossbills flew overhead, calling continuously. Excellent. This was, as is the redstart, new for my year list. Glowering skies greeted my arrival at Tyttenhanger where a quick scan of some 500 black headed gulls gave views of a single mediterranean gull; a juvenile. Another, perhaps the same, was seen from the hide before heavy rainfall meant a soaking as I wandered, head down to the car in shorts and sunglasses! A visit to Rye Meads RSPB was postponed due to inclement weather. A juvenile goldfinch posed near the carpark before the rain (4.) At Kings Mead both a common darter (5) and a ruddy darter (6) were recorded along with a brown hawker and migrant hawker. An emperor had beeen observed at Amwell. A juvenile 1 day old coot (7) seen at Tyttenhanger. In all 52 species including oystercatcher, common tern,little ringed plover (juv) at Tyttenhanger. I missed the fly through greenshank at the main pit, reported
on the Herts bird site found at http://www.hnhs.org/birds/
I arrived home to be presented with a dead female oak eggar, passed on by a local villager, found in their light fitting. Not a common moth for this area, last photo, taken on my phone, giving an idea of its large size. The only other moth seen was a shaded broad bar at King's Mead (9.) A few butterflies were seen, small tortoiseshell, large white, speckled wood, peacock and a single red admiral. All in all a pleasant day.
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange