Big Trout, Rare Birds and sunshine!

On Saturday I guided 4 good friends and clients to 26 trout between them at an average weight of over 3lbs per fish.
Herriots was the top area and Diawl Bach Nymphs and Buzzers using floating lines was the winning method.

So far this season, April and May have been cold months, with high winds and up to 7 - yes 7, layers of clothing!

I have heard a cuckoo in Ireland and at Grafham Water, but so far, not at Chew Valley.  But our bird watching rose to unprecedented heights, when we watched a Marsh Harrier quartering above the reeds and trees along Stratford Bank - what a graceful bird - very dark brown with a golden head and enormous wingspan - just the 3rd such sighting I have ever witnessed.

Later that afternoon, a pair of Hobbies flew overhead toward their nest sight - then an Osprey also flew above us, constantly being mobbed by a herring gull.

We were discussing how rare it was to see 3 such rare birds of prey in a single afternoon, so I rang my mate Martin Cottis to tell him.  He told me he was watching a really strange bird in the middle of the lake, so as it was time to pack up, we headed out to see what it was.  A Pomerine Skua - pretty well off it's migratory course and having a rest on the water.  What a day for fish ..... and birds.