A little wander today took me to a small bridge where I'd seen a Kingfisher a few days ago. The result today was, unfortunately, the same as last time. The Kingfisher was there, but saw me before I saw it and I ended up with a great view of it flying down the stream away from me. I am going to have to find some better tactics if I am going to get it's picture by the bridge!
Out on Ash Levels the whole area seemed devoid of birds until suddenly I encountered a huge flock of thrushes, mainly Fieldfares with a large number of Chaffinches.
I don't know if it is the milder weather, but these birds seemed very shy and I wasn't able to get close to them. There were several hundred birds near Paramour Street but they seemed in a constant state of flux, moving from one orchard to the next. At this time of year there can't be much old fruit left on the ground, but the soft ground should provide loads of worms and other invertebrates.
Nearer home the lake at Bushy Ruff is now nearly full again, although not much more than a trickle is coming over the weir. There were no Little Grebes around when I looked but the pair of Gadwalls that remained faithful, even when the water was low were still there. As the light went they both were close to the edge and I was able to get great views of what is one of my favourite ducks.
Although the female is less well marked than the male, she does share his very gentle and peaceful demeanour.
1 comment:
I found a dead fieldfare the other day - I suspect the Big Freeze was the culprit as it was only a day or two after the thaw.
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