Covenham.....an excellent visit!.

From time to time this site really does provide visitors with some excellent birding and today was no exception,with several good birds being seen,the highlights being the following.The main reason i made the journey today was to see if i could connect with the reported juv. Black-throated Diver that has been present for a few days.And today,thankfully,it showed pretty well through the scope on the choppy res,but not close enough for any good photos.It is a couple of years since i have seen one so well and was a real privilege to watch,a nice bird.The next goodie and an addition to my 'Covenham' list,was a cracking female/immature Black Redstart watched feeding around the Anglian water works buildings and compound giving some nice views through the scope.The Chats are a lovely family of birds and this little beauty was no exception,a cracker.Other niceties seen on the res included a couple of female/immature Common Scoter which kept their distance in the middle of the res,5 adult Whooper Swan which also did the same,one of my top five favourite species! and a single Sanderling associating with a hand full of Redshank.As it clouded over and progressed towards late afternoon several gulls began to come onto the res to bathe before heading to the coast to roost and i managed to pick out a single 1st winter Med. Gull as it flew in for a wash and brush up.Another very nice bird species i never tire of watching and they always mange to light up a day for me,despite how common they are these days and it seems a long time ago since i saw my first here,2 adults in May 1987.A slightly knackering day due to the lack of sleep,but very enjoyable all the same.