Black-necked Grebe

Strong North West made viewing difficult at Draycote Water this morning but at last we managed to find something different for a change with a Black-necked Grebe off toft bank. Both the Pink-footed and the 2 White-fronted Geese were with the large Greylag flock below farborough spit. The Greylag flock was a record count for me here (156). Also noted were 40 Pochard, Little Egret and Raven. Napton on the Hill had 8 Raven while nearby Napton Reservoir had 6 along with 4 Gadwall, 2 Snipe and 2 male Pochard. Tour of the valley produced 16 Tree Sparrow at Millholm Parc and the Little Owl at Kites Hardwick. No sign of the 80+ Golden Plover we had last week.