Wednesday 9 December 2020

Stranger on the Shore - Aka Bilk

 Two days of ‘pea-soupers’, where you couldn’t see your hands in front of you, wasn’t of too much concern as we had seen them both before! The worry came with yet another lack of Wildlife all round but the effort was still made! On the Main Pond refugee numbers continue to rise with a

SWAN GOOSE
 appearing from nowhere and further on a new 
Eddy Stobbard Lady arriving from Wales.

With nothing on the Irrigation pond we quickly moved next door where there was something of a heart-stopper just visible through the mist, no not Gorilla's but a putative

RED-CRESTED POCHARD
which was discounted as a weird hybrid by the oppinion that was sought!
Most, if not all, of any other what might be seen as action was confined to the
Northern Paddocks which once again have taken on the guise of a 'flood plain', with mostly Gulls. Most numerous by far were
BLACK-HEADED GULL
maybe amounting to
a hundred or more until a couple of
EGYPTIAN GEESE
started to steal the thunder.
Surprisingly, the second most numerous species of Gull were
LESSER BLACK-BACKED
amounting to a hefty, for here at least, baker's dozen!
PIED WAGTAIL
otherwise would fall under the heading of "a LOT".
Between the Ducks
GADWALL
it was noted that the very few Northern Thrushes (Redwing and Fieldfare) had left behind some of HOLLY BERRIES
MALLARD
and
TEAL
all in decent numbers before the last of the Gulls dropped in but onlr c3
HERRING GULLs
On the Heath things remain dire which did allow us to video ALL that was seen
Taxiing Airbus sandwiched between 2
STONECHAT
The brief run down to Longham Lakes did produce the most uncooperative and unclickable
Green-winged Teal but with 2 far more obliging
GREYLAG GEESE
falling to the Canon.
Back at Slight Return a couple of slices of bread proved an attractant to
even more
aerobatic
BLACK-HEADED GULLs
with the finale being a single stem of 

ROUGH CHERVIL
(thanks John)