We’ve had some lovely sightings treats for the start of December, so I’ll start with my personal favourite – the goldcrest. Along with the firecrest, which is similar in appearance and a little scarcer, the goldcrest is the UK’s smallest bird. It’s been spotted around the riverbank trail repeatedly over the past couple of weeks, and I was lucky enough to spot it in a tree near big hole on my way into work the other day. I saw a tiny little ball of dirty brown flutter up into an alder, so I got my binoculars on it. It had its back to me at first, but was preening its feathers, so I got a good glimpse of the bright orangey-yellow crest bordered with black on the middle of its head, and its beady little black eyes. Pine forests are the best place to see them, as their tiny beaks are perfectly suited to pick insects out of the crevices in pine boughs, although they are widespread and common across the UK, and can be seen ranging around with flocks of other small birds in autumn and winter.
Goldcrest image by John Bridges (rspb-images.com)
Another special sighting I’ve had lately has been of the goldeneye. Although visitors have been coming in with sightings of these lovely ducks almost daily, I only saw my first one at the end of last week, from Bob Dickens hide. They can look quite similar to tufted ducks at first glance, with their inky black bodies and pure white wings, but if you look closer, they also have white cheek patches and really do have yellowish-golden eyes! The males have a lovely greenish-black head, whilst the females are smaller and mottled grey with a chocolate brown head. Goldeneyes first bred in the UK in 1970, and since then birds have been attracted to nest in specially designed boxes put in trees close to water. In winter, birds from Northern Europe visit the UK. You can see them in the Highlands of Scotland in summer, where they breed.
Male and female goldenye image by Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)
A brown hare was seen on the Lin Dike Link trail on Sunday afternoon – hares can’t really be mistaken for rabbits – they are much larger, with incredibly long legs and long ears with black tips. Hares take shelter in a ‘form’, which is just a shallow depression in the ground, but when disturbed they can be seen bounding across fields in a zigzag pattern, propelled by their long legs.
Brown Hare image by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
Come and see us on the reserve to get your amazing winter wildlife sightings in our sightings book!