Birds held back by those recent westerly winds are finally on the move and today once again it felt like spring at Old Moor.
Here’s the summary of sightings…
Since the end of last week, visitors to Old Moor have been doing a bit of a detour, via Aldi. And why not? After all, nature lovers have to shop. Ah, but it hasn’t been those low, low prices* that have drawn watchers to the nearby supermarket. No, the Aldi on Manvers Way is merely a convenient marker to find four nearby waxwings.
I’ll explain. Folk who subscribe to the BirdGuides information service may have seen four waxwings listed as being at Old Moor. They’re not. They can be found near Starling Close, off Wrens Avenue. It’s a distance of 1.2 miles from Old Moor or five minutes drive from the Visitor Centre. Just turn left out of our car park and left again at – you guessed it – Aldi.
Waxwings NOT at Old Moor, but close by
Birds definitely AT Old Moor today included a ringed plover on the Wader Scrape. Yesterday two of these small waders were seen on the Mere, but today only one bird was seen, mostly attempting to avoid the attentions of the black-headed gulls.
Ringed plover dwarfed by black-headed gulls!
About 350 wigeon were grazing on banks of the Mere and the Field Pool today. It won’t be long before these birds leave us but there’s time enough to admire them in all their breeding finery.
A drake wigeon sails across the Mere
At the moment you may also see groups of handsome (if top heavy) shoveler performing short display flights in pursuit of a female. A bit of sun this afternoon allowed watchers to appreciate these peculiar ducks in their green and orange glory. So, to finish tonight’s ramblings, here’s a drake shoveler looking… er, curious.
Until next time.
*Other supermarkets are available!
Ahh! Do the “other supermarkets” also have waxwings?
Wigeon, teal, shoveler and other ducks are in fantastic colour just now.