For those individuals who don’t mind wrapping up warm and braving the cold Hollesley Marshes has been a real treat to visit. After a fairly quiet festive season January has been chock full of bird life on the scrape and out in the surrounding fields. Most notably the wintering geese. In the last week alone we have had top counts of 19 brent geese, 9 Barnacle, 53 European White Front, 102 Graylags, 11 Tundra Bean geese and 9 Pink Footed. These geese spend the winter in the UK where the weather is milder and food is easier to find. In spring they will return to their breeding grounds.
Photo: John Richardson. European white fronted geese at Hollesley Marshes
Other counts for the last week include 170 Cormorants, 14 Pintail, 2000+ wigeon, 40 shoveler, 400 teal, 1 pochard, 3 marsh harrier, 2 peregrine, 9 ringed plover, 3 gray plover, 62 lapwing, 77 curlew, 9 black tailed godwit, 10 snipe, 3 mediterranean gulls, 1 glaucous gull, 3 ruff2 spoonbill and a water pipit.