Cold winter birding

Hello

A cold night and day ensured there were plenty of birds on the garden feeders and on the feeders at the outlying feeding stations dotted around locally.

The female/immature Common Scoter was again at Ravensthorpe Reservoir today, it's tempting to think it's the bird originally at Pitsford.

At Hollowell Reservoir today there was a Pink-footed Goose, the female Ruddy Shelduck, two adult Caspian Gulls, a pair of Mandarin Ducks, six Stonechats and excellent counts of 347 Teal and 405 Mallard.

A Blackcap was noted at Bucknell Woods and at Pitsford Reservoir there were two Yellow-legged Gulls (adult and first year), three Red-crested Pochard (two drakes), four Common Snipe and two Bramblings at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station. Twenty Redpolls were in Scaldwell village gardens and a Siskin was at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate with at least one Redpoll at Hanging Houghton.

Four Smew were at Eyebrook Reservoir today (one adult drake).

I have just returned from a five day Naturetrek tour to the Camargue in search of Wallcreepers and other wildlife of the region. We only saw one Wallcreeper but it provided very good sustained views and the other birds were excellent including Moustached Warbler, Penduline Tits, Eurasian Eagle Owl and plenty more. Some images from the trip are on the page/tab Wallcreepers & the Camargue Nov/Dec 2023.

Regards

Neil M

Great Black-backed Gull.

Sparrowhawk courtesy of
John Tilly.

Male Chaffinch in winter
plumage courtesy of Claire
Nuttall.