ARC - warm, dry, cloudy, light airs - Following overnight rain we elected for a change of scene this morning so walked down to the pines where a large mixed flock of warblers and tits was busily feeding around the canopy and lower down in the buckthorn bushes; infact, it was probably the best such flock I`ve encountered here for a while. The majority comprised Willow Warblers, Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Blue and Great Tits, plus several Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, a few Long-tailed Tits, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Garden Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher. There was about 50 birds in all and it was one of those occasions when you thought just about anything could pop its head up.
There was plenty of activity on the lake too which was full of waterfowl spread right across the still waters in the calm conditions, probably a couple of thousand strong, mostly eclipse ducks such as Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shoveler and Gadwall, along with Mute Swans, Greylags, Great Crested and Little Grebes, Cormorants, Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns, two Great White and Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Oystercatcher, a Garganey and a Black-necked Grebe; a veritable bio-mass of birds. The only down side was that with Hanson hide still closed the shallows in front could not be seen from the bund by the now backless Screen hide, although with high water levels everywhere in this wettest of summers, there didn`t appear to be any islands visible.
No comments:
Post a Comment