Mrs L's first Redstart

Two local birds on the hit list for today - Ruddy Shelduck at Rye Meads and Redstart at Amwell. Some good birding at Rye Meads, Greenshank. Wigeon, Pintail, Juvenile Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper and Common Snipe but no sign of the Ruddy Shelduck (see tomorrow's blip!).

Next stop Amwell, to be greeted by the sound of strimmers! Not exactly conducive to birdwatching, but habitat management's important and required. Not holding out much hope that the Redstart was still around we slowly wandered down the hedge line to the Gladwin hide. Found a Whitethroat but no Redstart. Spent some time in the hide then a slow wander back up. We met a couple of other birders who'd heard that it'd been seen recently, so with hope we continued. Got some reasonable shots of a pair of Whitethroats and then finally Mrs L found the Redstart. I didn't get it initially, but as it worked its way up the hedgerow Mrs L eventually got me on to it. Shame it chose a deeply shaded spot to reveal itself to me, but Mrs L had had some excellent views earlier of a lifer for her, so let's not complain.