Dave, Roger and I were heading
south today into Bedfordshire where we were hoping for some good year ticks.
Our first call was at Pitsford
Reservoir in Northamptonshire for a Great White Egret but there was no sign and
so we moved on to Clifford Hill Country Park in Northamptonshire. There had been eight White-fronted Geese
present in fields behind the Premier Inn for at least three days but there was
no sign. Not a good start dipping on the
first two species.
We made our way to Radwell
Gravel Pits in Bedfordshire where there had been two Bean Geese present with a
party of Greylag Geese. We fond the
place ok and walked to the area where we thought they should be. We found five Greylags but there was no sign
of the Bean Geese. A third dip and the
day was turning into a bit of a disaster.
Next was Priory Lake in
Bedford for a male Ferruginous Duck but after searching for almost and hour we
had not seen it. Roger decided to walk
further around the lake in an attempt to get a full view behind the island and
located it with a party of Tufted Duck that all flew towards the hide. Dave and I walked the opposite way and soon
found it amongst the Tufted Duck.
Success at last, although we began to think we might dip on
everything. With the pressure of we
moved onto the RSPB Headquarters at Sandy.
When we arrived at the gate
house car park there was clearly a lot of birds feeding around the
feeders. We walked around to the area
with a shelter overlooking the feeding station and there were at least fifty
Siskin feeding, mainly on the ground and also a few redpolls. We eventually at least fifteen Lesser
Redpolls and four Mealy Redpolls amongst the Siskin. There was also Chaffinch, Greenfinch,
Goldfinch, Blackbird Robin and Nuthatch in the area. After lunch we took a walk in the direction
of the lodge but all we saw was several Blue and Great Tits with a single
Siskin at a second feeding station where a nice male Sparrowhawk made a pass
but didn’t hang around. The only other
sighting of any note was another Nuthatch and a Raven was heard.
Back at the feeding station we
had further views of Siskin and redpolls and also a couple of Brambling.
The day had started badly but
had improved after we found the Ferruginous Duck and superb close views of the
feeding flock at The Lodge.
Male Siskin at The Lodge
Male Siskin at The Lodge
Male Siskin at The Lodge
Blue Tit at The Lodge
Male Siskin at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Mealy Redpoll at The Lodge
Lesser Redpoll at The Lodge
Lesser Redpoll at The Lodge
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