Dungeness and West Hythe

My other day on my week off decided to head down to Dungeness first stop was the farm where apair of Cattle Egret though only 1 was about feeding in the hay bales before flying off to feed around the back of the farmyard. Then headed to the main reserve where all the waterfowl was out on the water especially good numbers of Smews with the most I seen together at one place quite happy fishing in the water sometimes close to the hide. Further out big numbers of Shoveler, Wigeon, Gadwall with a few Goldeneyes and Pintails hiding in the flock.

Hunting Cattle Egret

Pair of Redhead Smews

Then headed to West Hythe on the Canal where there was a nice Goosander showing well in the afternoon sunshine which did't dissapoint showing well and with at least 5 Little Egrets on the Canal and a few thrushes seemed a nice urban nature spot.

Swimming Gosander

Song thrush taking a break

Winter day out in suffolk

With a week off work had a few days out the first was a day out in suffolk where the first stop was a visit to Beccles Quay as the day before a few Scaup had been reported so had a morning visit after a little walk around the Scaups were found fishing with a few Tufted ducks between a few boats in the Quay.

Male Scaup

Tufted Duck in the reflection of the boats

Then head along the coast to Covehith Broad where there a nice selection of Waterfowl on the water with at least 4 Goldeneye, Female Smew and plenty of Wigeon and Teal and massive flock of Common Gulls feeding on the broad.  Then walked along the beach where caught up with wintering Shorelarks and watching them feeding on the edge of the broad when was luck enough for a couple of Snow Bunting to come down and have a little bath on the waters edge. Then walking back had a few Barnacle Goose fly over my head and down the coast.

Shore Lark

Then ended the day with a visit to my favorite Tawny Owl, Mable in Christchurch Park on the way home on this occasional she was napping but always nice to catch up on.

Mable Napping

Winter birds down at the Watercress Beds

In the last few weeks been down at the Watercress beds in st. Albans where the wintering flocks of Siskins and Redpolls along with the resient Goldfinch and Bullfinches have been showing pretty well along with a Water Rails and Kingisher which shows on some days.

Feeding Siskin

Redpolls in the alders

Feeding Goldfinch

The stunning male bullfinch

The Water Rail hiding as usual

Song thrush about to feed on the berries

Day out in oxfordshire

Last weekend had a nice day to Farmoor and Otmoor on the edge of Oxfordshire with the RSPB Group. Started on a sunny but windy morning at Farmoor this resulted in the bird staying out of the wind which showed as a fair number of the birds were sheltering in with the the sailing boats so we had the sight of 7 Little Grebes all sheltering together with Tufted Ducks and mallards and a nice Little Egret feeding in the mooring area with a few flocks of Starlings overhead.

Further round when the wind had dropped a bit we spotted a few Great Crested Grebes out feeding out on the water where were found a lovely female Goldeneye with them. We then stopped to check the woodland where we came across a nice flock of Fieldfares and Redwings with a a few Blackbirds and a Mistle Thrush feeding in a hedge before a Sparrowhawk flew across before we walked on the causeway where we had a few Pied Wagtails in the boating area.

At Otmoor in the afternoon out on the wetland a nice slection of ducks were out on the water with Teal, Shoveler, Pochard and Wigeons were showing well with the Lapwings and from the hide Linnets, Reed Bunting and Goldfinches were coming down to the seed.

At the reedbeds we had a super view of a Hare before it took one look at us and sprinted away down the path while we waited for the main event of the Startling murmuration at first they came in small groups of ten birds coming from different directions slowly building up into a bigger flock, joining up and seperating. This carried on still the flock appeared to reach somewhere between 20 and 30,000 birds forming different shapes before they roosted in one of the big trees in front of the reedbeds a wonderful end to a super day.

Nice end to the birding year at Wallsea Island

On sunday went out out toWallsea Island for my last days birding on lovely day birding even though at the moment you can only currently walk along the wall quite a few birds out on the estuary with a lots of Redshanks, Ringed Plovers, Dunlins and Lapwing feeding out on the mud. Furthern in and on the inner pools lots of Teal, Gadwall Wigeon and wildfowl with Meadow Pipits and Skylarks in the fields.

Reflecting Redshank

Walking back along the wall in the late afternoon the first of the raptor came in the form of a beautiful Barn which spent some time hunting before landing on a fence post about 50 foot behind a pair of birder who where looking the wrong way!! Further down the wall a Short-eared owl came in off the sea and one of the 6 that spent the rest of the evening hunting or fighting in the fields along with a Ring-tailed Hen harrier whicch flew through before a beatiful Sunset.

Hunting Barn Owl

Hunting SE Owl

Speedy Hen Harrier

Sunsetting

College Lake

A nice trip out to College Lake with the RSPB last weekend on a beautiful winter morning with plenty of Fieldfare and Redwing around along with selection of Finches. From the main lake a nice selection of ducks with Wigeon, Tufted and Gadwall in high number and over 10 Snipe feeding on the islands.

We then walked further round with more sighting of the winter thrushes along with a few Bullfinches, GreenWoodpecker and a big flock of linnet least 40 birds and a nice woolly bonus in the shape of the grazing sheep with a few hunting Kestrels over the grassland. Then walked around to the woodland hide where a nice selection of Tits and Chaffinches where feeding.

Feeding Redwings

One of many Fieldfares

Green Woodpecker briefly in the tree

The flock of sheep

Then ended the day at Wiltstone Reservoir where I came across an Dunlin which is quite unusual at this time of year feeding in with the ducks with a nice number of Teal and Wigeon looking stunning in the evening light.

Feeding Dunlin

Feeding teal

Calling Wigeon

Greylags flying through the sunlight

Wiltstone Sunset