My first port of call, the seafront, was the most underwhelming of the mornings locations. Three distant Red-throated Divers flew east together, with the only bird on the sea that wasn't a gull or Cormorant being a single Razorbill. Dire. Can only presume the feeding conditions aren't great off here at the moment.
Lower Bruckland Ponds in what felt like the half-light of dawn still, thanks to the heavily overcast grey skies, showed a pair of Gadwall still lingering with the Mallard flock. The wintering Coot was still present too, with two Chiffchaff calling from water-side willows.
I headed to the river valley after this, where a check of a regular wintering site for Jack Snipe returned three birds, including two that came up virtually side by side. At least 18 Common Snipe too.
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| Shocking photo of a Jack Snipe, but in my defence it was pratically still dark! |
Nearby a flock of 25 Fieldfare were good to see, as there really haven't been many around this winter...
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| Part of the Fieldfare flock |
On the river and marshes, singles of adult Med Gull, Greenshank, Golden Plover and Dunlin were sightings all worth noting. But the highlight for me was prolonged views of the lingering Marsh Harrier that I mentioned in the previous blog post, allowing me the opportunity to take some 'in habitat' shots...
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| A distinctive shape and an equally distinctive yellow crown! |
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| Wouldn't like to be a Water Rail or Snipe in this reedbed! |
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| It kept returning to this spot to hover, but never went down |
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| Clearly a first-winter bird. Be great if it stays for the rest of the winter |
All I need now is for the sun to come out. Yes it was great to see some birds, but like am sure many people are feeling right now, I cannot say how much I am DONE with this constantly dull, grey and overcast weather that we seem to be trapped under. Just feels like dusk all day. Grim.
Roll on Spring...
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