Well it really looks like winter is finally arriving today with a cold easterly wind and at times driving rain, but the lagoons and waterfowl really needed the wetland to become a bit wetter so in many ways its time we left these drought conditions behind! 

Still plenty to see despite the wind driven rain at times seeping through the hide windows with our little female kingfisher using the shelter of the ditch at Xerox to weather the storm.

The marsh harriers too have been on top form with 21 roosting last night and this morning 18 all together at the back of Singleton lagoon floating and jousting in the wind,

A poor immature male marsh harrier in the driving rain

15 birds all together in the air

Also regular has been merlin, barn owl, sparrowhawk and peregrine but the hen harriers can be unpredictable with some evenings good views but on others no-show, but then that's the beauty of birding I suppose! 

Still up to 90 ruff roosting and feeding on Singleton lagoon along with the black-tailed godwits, redshank and lapwing while 61 curlew flew out of roost on the estuary yesterday heading up the river Ouse. Last week there was a build up of snipe but suddenly they all seem to have disappeared! 

Ruff 

With the harsh weather the duck were returning to the lagoons again this morning with 184 wigeon, alongside the teal, shoveler, mallard and shelduck. 2 whoopers were resting in the field next to the reserve before they flew up towards the Ousefleet end of the site. 

Wigeon are just getting their full plumage, have a closer look too at the lovely patterning on the females under-wing coverts

And these shoveler have a lovely patterning

Good to see the first little egret on site for a while on Friday, always nice to see this species for those of us who remember when they were still a rarity, its seems very possible that over the next few years great-white egret is going to follow suit, the picture below was of the bird at Yorkshire Sculpture park just underneath the heronry and ignoring all the people walking past! Where isn't there a heronry where there isn't a GWE hanging about these days?

Little egret on Townend

Great-white egret - there has been one regularly seen at our Hook Island reserve but this one was at Yorkshire Sculpture park

Despite the continental influence visible migration over site really seems to have dropped off although there is still a few bramblings going over. The siberian chiffchaff resurfaced on Friday and should still be about while there are still at least two water pipits using the lagoons to feed around the edges.

Siberian chiffchaff - a brief view but it shows the top colours and rump quite well

Water pipit

Other interesting sightings include raven again at the weekend, stonechats still and off course the Kingfisher. Add in bullfinch, cettis warblers, reed buntings, tree sparrows, fieldfares, and redwings then there's still a nice mix of species to back up the waterbirds.

For those of you who are interested in the bearded tits I thought I'd include this link to the BTO ringing blog about a beardie from the Tay reedbeds that was recovered abroad, it really does show that they can really move when they want to, even our British birds!

http://btoringing.blogspot.com/

I'll finish as I started - just a little something to brighten up the day

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