It was a beautiful afternoon at Abberton on Thursday, though there was a nip in the wind to remind us that it was still January. The Layer Breton causeway was quite busy and the honking of geese could be heard even before I'd parked the car! The on-street entertainment were clearly being bolstered by the amount of food they were being offered:
They clearly prefer the entertainment world to the farmyard.
Even if cheeky black-headed gulls do gatecrash their shows!
This crow was watching with a distinct sense of amusement.
A lovely coot manages to escape from a potential bite on the bottom.
Another coot goes into warp speed.
This moorhen was more sedate.
A female goldeneye ..........
......... and a distant male.
Pretty sure this is a pochard.
Definitely a lovely male pochard. I love his glowing red head and eyes!
I'm still trying to work out if this is an immature herring or common gull. Immature gulls are hard work.
This crow prepares to flee but not quickly enough to escape the dreaded camera.
These grey herons were gearing up for nesting season.
A beautiful great crested grebe.
The crows were spoiling me a bit. I enjoy opportunities to show off their gleaming feathers.
After a nice, hot lunch at the Visitor Centre (bacon roll for me, egg rolls for Limpy) we headed back out, but we didn't make it out of the car park as this beauty appeared:
I might have mentioned something recently about Limpy and kestrels!
Back at the causeway this stunning male smew was looking good.
Even the back of his head is lovely!
Finishing with this splashy bather.
Ahhhhhh, that's better!
Enjoy, as always.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Thank you Clare. Glad you enjoyed your day...and lunch!
Birdies LG DU update.
Lunch sounded good!! Bet you enjoyed it after all that fresh air!
Good pics, as usual, Clare.
Stunning photos Clare
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Lovely thread Clare,looks like a great place to visit. Great photo of the Crow on the fence,and the Smew is a brilliant sighting-I've never seen one in the wild. Your photo reminded me of how early Herons start to nest -must keep my eyes peeled from now on
Jayne
See my Flickr photos here.
Gulls, geese, ducks and even a Kestrel, nice day out I'd say.
Lot to learn
Looks like a good day with some lovely species and behaviour.
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Nige Flickr