1500 hrs and up on Soil Hill in a freezing cold WNW>5 with blue skies but frequent heavy hail showers.
First bird was a cock Pheasant enjoying JLs seed so after sprinkling some Nyjer down I moved up the track slowly ready to take a pic of the Heron if it was in its usual spot.
It was but it saw me first and headed off towards the NK pond.
Immediately after, a Jack Snipe lifted from the right hand side of the track landing just above the left hand ridge before moving off again onto the west summit.
A check of the reed area flushed a Common Snipe which spiralled up high and headed towards the mast.
Strongly expecting a Snow Bunt in the conditions I did a full zig zag search of the west summit flushing 2 Meadow Pipits and 1 Skylark but no sign of the Common or Jack Snipe.
Whilst doing the same tactics on the east summit I flushed another 2 Common Snipe , which is unusual for that area and another 4 Meadow Pipits.
Nearing the SW corner of the east summit I stopped to take a pic of the sun going down when a small bird caught my eye flushed from not far in front of me and flying low above the track >N.
The bird was between the sun and me so was just a dark silhouette in the bins but in the few seconds I had it in view I could see that it was a Bunting type sp. and not a Mipit or Lark.
It was stubby bodied and a small rounded head and blunt bill with a longish tail.
I,d put this down to Reed Bunt , which would be unusual in that area, Snow Bunt or Twite .
It was lost from view as it flew below the mounds but looked to drop down in that area.
I had a quick, half hearted attempt to re locate it but the light was now almost gone and another hailstorm came to give me a battering so its down to the weekday lads now to see if they can turn anything up.
BS