 |
| Redwing (c) John Reynolds |
 |
| Dawn Saturday (c) Pat Galka |
Hard to readjust to being back in winter after ten days in the southern
hemisphere. Saturday dawn was beautiful and the sun shone most of the day. In
contrast on Sunday fog and low cloud shrouded the moor but mid morning the sun
burnt through and just as though a curtain had been drawn the day went from
monochrome to colour.
 |
| Fieldfare (c) John Reynolds |
Most noticeable on both days were the large numbers of Redwings and
Fieldfares in the hedgerows and across the bushes in the carpark field and I
assume they will stay until the berry crop is exhausted. The second screen is an
excellent place to see them, as the haws are consumed elsewhere along the hedge
they will get closer to the screen in order to eat those that are adjacent to
it.
It was quite a surprise to realise just how much it has rained during the
time I was away. Scrapes and ditches have filled and once again there are muddy
areas and pools for birds to feed around. Duck numbers have risen dramatically
and the birds are well spread out over the whole reserve. One of the most
popular areas is at the western end of Big Otmoor where large numbers of Wigeon
are accompanied by at least five hundred Lapwings and a similar number of Golden
Plover. The numbers can only really be appreciated when they are all flushed by
a raptor.
 |
| Teal (c) Pat Galka |
On the reedbed the same principle applies. This time however the birds
were flushed by the first volley of shots from the rifle range. There were at
least six hundred ducks that flew, largely Teal with Shoveller and Gadwall
amongst them. A smaller number of Pochard are present but seemed reluctant to
fly. Amongst the Pochard is a slightly odd, different looking bird, perhaps some kind
of hybrid or one with aberrant feather colouration, it is very pale around the
face and with a lighter area under its head. We looked at it carefully on Sunday
but could not come to any conclusions about it.
 |
| Gadwall and Shoveller (c) John Reynolds |
From the second screen there
were twenty four Gadwall, already paired up the drakes were looking especially
smart in their crisp grey and black plumage. A couple of flocks of at least
twenty five Snipe were active over the reedbed and there were odd parties of two
or three birds lurking around the margins.
The Bittern or perhaps one of the Bitterns made a brief appearance on
Saturday morning flying over the southern reedbed. There seems to be reports of
one bird in the northern sector and others from the southern. Until we see two
in the air at the same time, as we did back in October we can not be sure. Marsh
Harrier and Peregrine were also recorded this weekend. The Cetti’s warbler was
heard on Saturday up by the second screen and on Sunday made a brief appearance
in a bush by the first screen.
 |
| Lapwings (c) John Reynolds |
Amongst the Lapwings and Goldies on Saturday morning were at least three
Dunlin, a Redshank that flew away calling and four medium sized waders that were
probably Ruff. Further indication that the scrapes are functioning well.
 |
| Crayfish (c) Darrell Woods |
At Noke the track up to the farm is flooded again and in the flood Darrell
saw a fearsome Signal Crayfish ready to take on the world. I assume that they
are preyed on by Herons and I know that they are a popular snack for
Otters.
Most welcome news was the sighting on Sunday of a female Bearded Tit in the reedbed close to the first screen. There
has been a bird seen intermittently over the summer and it may well have been
the same individual still lonely and looking for love. It is probably still
not too late for another bird to join it from elsewhere.
 |
| Long Tailed Tit (c) John Reynolds |
The Starling roost is undeniably large but is totally unpredictable in
terms of display and activity. If anyone is planning to go down to see it I
would strongly recommend a weekday evening as the parking at the weekend is
difficult.
 |
| Green Woodpecker from the screen (c) John Reynolds |
No comments:
Post a Comment