An osprey at West Williamston this morning - I'd had a local report of one on Sunday, but have been signally failing to see one for a week or two. This one was perched on the tall post by the channel a few hundred metres upstream from the NNR, opposite where there is a seat and a plastic heron on the bank. In getting close enough for a distant record shot, ignoring the "private foreshore" signs, I flushed three greenshank and a little egret. A wheatear on a bare branch that is stuck in the ground on the bank was a nice bonus. The osprey eventually flew lazily upstream in the general direction of Milton, making a half-stoop into one of the creeks which flushed about a dozen redshank. From its small size I'm guessing the osprey was a male.
