Martin's Haven snipe

The valley is still extremely waterlogged, and yesterday I flushed 2 (common) Snipe in the morning. In the afternoon I flushed a Jack Snipe which behaved according to the books, came up without any call, and flopped down again 20-30 yards away.
The predominant songbird in the valley remain Song Thrushes and Blackbirds (the snail shell count is astonishing), with just 2 Robins and a solitary Great Tit seen. The other highlight of this morning was a Skylark singing strongly overhead.

If you are driving between Marloes village and Mullock, the irrigation pond on the right hand side after the Winterton corner has has had a regular 2-4 Teal most of the winter. They, at least, love the strong green algae that covers the pond even after the recent rain and frosts.