Greetings from a bright and sunny Fairburn Ings where the sky is blue, the breeze is gentle and the air is full of bird song, buds are forming on branches, snowdrops are in full bloom around the reserve and other spring bulbs are slowly stretching their necks up out of the ground after a wintery rest.
Sightings from the last few days include siskin, coal tit, great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit, willow tit, bullfinch, reed bunting, goldfinch, tree sparrow, magpie, robin, nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, song thrush, greenfinch, dunnock, blackbird, and collared dove all visiting the feeders around the centre and flying overhead was a buzzard.
From Pickup hide there has been treecreeper, great spotted woodpecker, shelduck, shoveler, teal, siskin, tufted duck, goldeneye and brambling. The feeder screen has drawn in greenfinch, goldfinch, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, willow tit, chaffinch, tree sparrow, house sparrow, dunnock, blackbird, coot, moorhen, pheasant, and of course the always present mallards hoovering up any spilled seed.
Spoonbill flash has had curlew, lapwing, cormorant, tufted duck, pochard, shoveler, mallard, wigeon, teal, goldeneye, great crested grebe, goosander, and pintail visiting recently and a smew was reported from New flash.
Sparrowhawks and kestrels have been reported from various locations and on Main bay there has been reports of goldeneye, goosander, tufted ducks, coots and shelduck.
Herons are starting to pair up and claim nest spots around the heronry, which we will be organising guided walks to visit in the near future.
Oh and best of all, we have a range of new and delicious cakes available from the shop, so now you can sit with a brew and a slice of fresh cake and watch the birds feeding and listen to their song from the comfort of our balcony. Have a fantastic weekend and if visiting Fairburn Ings, do pop in to the visitor centre and have a chat with our lovely staff who are always glad to hear what you have seen be it birds, bugs, mammals or flowers.