The fields were exceeding wet again for this morning’s count. Steady rain made spotting difficult for those with glasses and recording numbers was not easy, despite pencil and waterproof paper. To add to the complications, some of the snipe were flying up in quite large groups. Overall a very good total of 106 snipe (of which 17 were jack found in Big Meadow). Breakdown was 1 Hay Meadow, 2 School Pond, 101 Big Meadow and 2 noted slightly earlier during the reserve inspection in Lower Sowerholme. One of the jacks was not flushed by the team but taken by a sparrowhawk. The hawk was seen to go down on the far side of the marsh and the fresh wing of a jack snipe was noticed as we walked through the rush. Other highlights were a heron in Upper Sowerholme, and a brown hare near Willow Pond in Lower Sowerholme (again a sighting from the reserve inspection).
Queens Award for Voluntary Service