I had to get my outdoor fix before the potential snow fall arrives, which thankfully was just a heavy shower, that lasted virtually all day.
As I’m compiling this, I note that Catlady has had 8-10 inches of snow!
Question, before I go any further, what could be better than seeing a greater spotted woodpecker high in the trees on a sunny winter morning…..
Answers later on, but something to whet the appetite….
A nice misty start across the pools and reed beds.
A great white egret seeking out breakie….
before taking flight…..
A juvenile mute swan, one of a few still with some grey in their plumage
Mute Swan
Mr Tuftie
another mute swan photo
The flotilla, tufties, (M&F)
On the path back towards the hides and visitor centre, lots of goldfinches, siskins, dunnocks, lesser red polls foraging away
A hopeful robin,
yes I did offer some suet pellets, but it would hand feed, instead taking the suet pellets from the small palm sized tub where I keep the bribery. Someone ain’t daft….
More siskins, goldfinches, dunnocks and lesser red polls
Goldfinch
Siskin (M)
Siskin (F)
Pochard (M)
Another pool and another flotilla, tufties and pochard
A mute swan flypast….
Mr Tuftie sorting out his plumage,
before another dive
Dinosauramonts
Now, I asked earlier on: “what could be better than seeing a greater spotted woodpecker high in the trees on a sunny morning”
How about two GSW, M&F, probably a breeding pair, they were certainly staying close to each other….
The following photos were worth the pain of looking up and lunging a big lens upward.
I'm tempted to think they are a breeding pair, there was repetitive eye contact between them. As always,corrections welcomed.
Could that be bettered?
Mrs GSW….
How about Mrs GSW getting her ration of insects…..
The sightings on this visit include:
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
That's quite a list of sightings Mike and lovely photos to go with it; brilliant to see the finch fest on the ground (and not forgetting the Dunnock not on that list ! ) and how nice to see the GSW's who undoubtedly look like they are paired up; should hear some drumming soon if not already ! Thanks for such a lovely post.
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Regards, Hazel
Unknown said:That's quite a list of sightings Mike and lovely photos to go with it; brilliant to see the finch fest on the ground (and not forgetting the Dunnock not on that list ! ) and how nice to see the GSW's who undoubtedly look like they are paired up; should hear some drumming soon if not already ! Thanks for such a lovely post.
Ooops, I'd slipped up with the dunnock!
The pools were quite busy, the siskin photos show how active Brandon was. Even the feeders (which I usually view from the cafe,one of these days I'll visit the hide that looks on to the feeders) had a relentless stream of birds.
If ever there was a good day for a guided walk to introduce the general public to a reserve, that would have been an ideal day.
PimperneBloke said:Lovely set Mike, don't think I've seen that many finchy things feeding on the ground together before, most I saw was half dozen goldfinch once. Nice to see the blue sky too, we had a couple of days but now it's rainy grey again Thanks for sharing:o)
Nor me, it was an amazing sight to see.
SnappyMac said:Another impressive list Mike :) I particularly like the Egret and Siskin photo's. That was a lot of birds on the path...
It was a fabulous day, well, morning, I still have daily leg clean and dressing changes, but always a good morning to set the day up.
At a wild guess, probably 100-200 birds on the path, but I'm no expert at counting.