Out at Exminster Marsh this morning I heard and saw my first Sedge Warblers of the year, several males. The light was a bit overcast and almost misty, low cloud I presume. With the Easter Holidays still happening it was a tad busy though with the usual "odd" runners … apparently its fun but they don't appear to be having much with their pained expressions, pants and grunts.  It really can't be good for you. Cyclists are everywhere, encouraged by the cycle path and who could deny them their pleasure, if only they would use the path/road and not the Towpath! 

Rant over!
my new Manifrotto Tripod is great, made of Carbon Fibre it is much lighter and more stable than my last one and I am sure that my pictures will be better than before. Cettis warbler are still my main focus and I stood next to a Hawthorn bush that contained an elusive, but loudly singing bird in the hope that it would show itself …. it didn't, but on top of the bush, a really nice Reed Bunting did. When I had a close look at the piccies when I got back I was thrilled that in the poor light the camera had performed so well (rock solid tripod) . This image contained a bit of action and interest with the bunting looking at the fly.

As I slowly dawdled down the Towpath a chap approached me and asked if I had seen the Spoonbill ……. I hadn't!  As we both looked, it took to the air and flew a little nearer, still in the distance but I managed a couple of good ones as it came in to land. I am glad that we have this one with us, I think its been here for a day or so. We watched it feeding for a while and with a bit of luck it may come to one of the scrapes nearer to the roadway. The birds already settled on the water look very much like Whimbrel, in fact I am pretty sure that they are! So a good morning really with 3 new species for the year making a total of 163 species so far for the year.