It was suitably wintery for our 'Wild Winter' weekend, although not the bright frosty kind of weather we'd have liked the most! But some of our wonderful volunteers ventured out and showed our visitors some lovely wildlife.
We've been seeing a few black tailed godwits who have made their way here from their breeding grounds in Iceland. We've not seen him yet this year but we'll be looking out for a particular bird 'WY-YX' who was given some 'bird bling' back in 2003 in the form of coloured leg rings and who has put in regular appearances on the reserve since 2009. He does seem to like being here for Christmas so he should be here soon enough!
There are plenty of lapwings to be seen out on the wetlands at the moment, and they do look fabulous as they take to the skies in large flocks. They are having to be ever watchful and vigilant at the moment as the peregrine falcon has been a regular visitor!
Peregrine by Graham Osborne
There are also plenty of ducks - wigeon and teal perhaps being the most numerous but look for colourful shovelers and elegant pintails too.
Shovelers by Gareth Hughes
They will also be on the look out for the speedy peregrine but yesterday one of our volunteers witnessed one being harassed by a marsh harrier who appeared to be attempting to drown the duck. A little bit gruesome perhaps but interesting behaviour nevertheless.
Volunteer Neil seems to have a knack of finding merlin and he was once again successful, seeing on from West Mead hide on Sunday morning. Our winter walk on Sunday were treated to views of the marsh harrier, buzzards, hovering kestrels and several sparrowhawks. I was beginning to worry about them a little as it was getting rather dark and they still had not returned...and then they arrived back, pink cheeked and chilly but rather happy - the final flourish to their afternoon was a good view of a barn owl flying in front of West Mead hide.
But it's not just about the wetland birds or birds of prey, the hedgerows are busy too. Bullfinches become easier to spot now most of the leaves have fallen - Hanger View and Redstart Corner are often good spots to see the beautiful pink males. Listen out for their rather soft and sad sounding call 'peu, peu' -apparently a group of these birds is a 'bellowing' - doesn't quite make sense to me.
Bullfinch by Chris Prince
Constantly on the move are tiny goldcrests & firecrests - both have been spotted close to the 'Pipe Pond' at the T-junction where the circular loop begins. But perhaps my favourite sighting of the weekend was for the gang of 15 long tailed tits. You rarely come across a long tailed tit without it being followed by a noisy rabble of more long tailed tits. At this time of year it makes good sense to be part of a gang - more pairs of eyes to look for food, watch for danger and more warm bodies to cuddle up with during the cold nights!
Long tailed tit by Anne Harwood