Thanks to volunteer John for leading our special guests around on Tuesday and for his lovely sightings report.
Our three guests chose the right day for their guided walk - not a cloud in the sky and no cold wind. What was on their wish list? A Firecrest would be nice and perhaps a Bullfinch in the sun. The previous day's list included a Firecrest seen at the Hanger and there was always the chance of seeing Bullfinch so we left with some optimism. The Yurt feeders gave us the usual starting list - Sparrows, Blue and Great Tit, Robin and Nuthatch with a fleeting visit from a Coal Tit. On the zigzag we saw and heard the first of a number of Fieldfare and Redwing with a Song Thrush trying to confuse our id skills and several Blackbirds. A Red Admiral flew over.
From West Mead we checked the large number of Canada Geese but there were no other species hiding amongst them. Two Egyptian Geese showed off outside the hide but despite our best efforts we couldn't find a Snipe or any other waders. Over the radio we learnt that a Great Egret was flying round from the North Brooks but it must have changed its mind as it didn't turn up, nor did the Cattle Egret that had been reported the previous day.
On to Winpenny and in the hide were several birders including two of our expert volunteers and they immediately pointed us to the splendid Spotted Redshank strutting round the margins close by. The Spotty is an elegant bird with a long slim bill slightly turned down at the tip. The main difference from the more common Redshank is the white eye stripe which is the usual way of distinguishing them in poor light and at a distance.
Spotted Redshank by Gary Trew
Our guests were delighted at having such good views of what was a new bird for them and were also pleased to find a Red Kite watching the world go by from a riverside oak before it made a lazy lap of the tree and glided away.
The view from the Hanger was quite spectacular. A Peregrine preened in it's Willow tree.
Peregrine by Anne Harwood
A mass of birds covered the water and the grassland. At the back were Black-headed Gulls then a line of twelve Cormorants all facing west with some drying their wings. With the sun on their backs they looked distinctly exotic. More Canada Geese were feeding with Lapwing dotted about. On the two main pools were a large number of ducks - Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Shoveler and a good number of dapper Pintail.
Male Pintail by Gareth Hughes
One Shelduck stood out, glowing ‘persil white’ in the sunshine. Along one spit a grey mass proved to be a huge flock of Black-tailed Godwits - about six hundred was our best guess.
We moved on to the new viewpoint above Nettley's for a closer look at the Godwits hoping that the Peregrine or another raptor might put in an appearance so that we could enjoy the Godwits at their best. We were not kept waiting for long…
From the east a male Marsh Harrier spooked the gulls then the ducks began to take off noisily as the Harrier cruised along. The Godwits were unmoved. The Harrier turned back but then came closer, quartering the ditch below us before turning north. That did it! All the remaining birds took off and the sky was filled with a chaos of noise and movement. The Godwits did us proud, wheeling round showing white then grey as they turned. " It's like a snowstorm out there " someone exclaimed as we stood glued to this spectacle.
A blizzard of Black-tailed Godwits by Phil Thornton
The Harrier drifted off, the birds returned, recounting their adventure as they took their places again. Clouds arrived and the whole picture changed with the mass of birds now all looking rather dull. This was our cue to head back.
As we puffed our way back up the zigzag we could hear the contact call of a Bullfinch but couldn't see it. We glimpsed a Crest flitting about but couldn't get enough to decide whether it was Gold or Fire. It looked as if it was going to be a frustrating finish but we were saved by a Treecreper putting on a good show of ascending a tree trunk and moving on to the base of the next tree before starting again.
Treecreeper by Graham Osborne