I started off at the Lyndon
Reserve with the intention of trying to find the two European and the single
Greenland White-fronted Geese. I took at
look at the feeding station where there was a single Marsh Tit and Tree Sparrow
but they quickly dispersed as a male Sparrowhawk appeared. It was probably the same bird I had seen on Thursday
but today it didn’t stop and perched and just make a couple of circuits of the
feeders and the bush before moving off to the east.
I walked down the footpath to
deep water hide where I could see a concentration of geese but all I could see
were Greylags and Canada Geese with a white feral bird. As I was scoping them some more came in and I
noticed two as they landed where not Greylags and assumed they would be the two
European White-fronts. As I looked
closer I could that they were not and I assumed they were Pink-footed Geese but
they were too distant to be sure and so I continued on to Tufted Duck
hide. I was now much closer and was able
to confirm that they were Pink-foots and I also found the juvenile Greenland
White-front and a Barnacle Goose. Wader
Scrape hide is being rebuilt but I thought I would get a better view from the
site but as I was about to walk down the path Steve called to say that he and
Terry had found a Red-necked Grebe on the north shore of the Hambleton
Peninsula.
I walked back to the car and
drove around to the end of the peninsula and after parking walked down the old
road to the end. There were a party of
Greylag Geese in the last field and on scanning I found the two European
White-fronts with them. I continued on
to the end and walked around the shore to view the area between the peninsular
and Whitwell. There were few birds, a
couple of Mute Swans, a few Mallard, a Goldeneye and several Great Crested
Grebes but there was no sign of the Red-necked Grebe or the Common Scoter that
Steve and Terry had seen at the same time.
I walked on the shore of the bay and then when further along the track
to view the north arm. The first thing I
noticed was a fisherman and he was quite close to the area the birds had been
and it was likely the grebe and the scoter had moved. I scanned down the arm several times before finding
the female-type Common Scoter but the only grebes I was seeing were Great
Crested. I had looked at a distant pair
of grebes on several occasions but they were clearly Great Crested. Feeling that I wasn’t going to catch up with
the Red-necked I had one final scan and noticed that there were now three
grebes together. As I looked at them
through the scope, one was clearly and Great Crested, but I was unsure about
the other two as they were sitting with the head sunk into their
shoulders. I knew from previous views
that one would be a Great Crested and sure enough the first to raise its head
was. The other continued to remain with
its head sunk into its shoulders but after a few minutes it raised its head and
I was able to confirm it was a Red-necked Grebe. It was rather distant but I was pleased in
finding again as it had gone some distance from where Steve and Terry had seen
it.
White-fronted Geese
Cormorant off the peninsular
I made may way back along the peninsula
and stopped to scan the north arm from the fisherman’s car park. There were three more female-type Common
Scoter towards Dickinson’s Bay and three Little Egrets in the bay but there was
no sign of the Great White Egrets. From
the end of the road to Tim’s cottage the drake Smew was still in the fishponds
and I found four Pintail in the north arm but again there was no sign of the
Great White Egrets and I couldn’t find the Black-necked Grebes either.
After taking my lunch I went
to the Egleton Reserve but there was very little on lagoon one, with fifteen
Pintail being the best. I walked to
Shoveler hide on lagoon three seeing a few Redwings and a single Fieldfare on
route. There were quite a few duck on
the lagoon, which were mainly Gadwall and Tufted Duck but there was also
Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard, Goldeneye and a single drake Pintail
and a Snipe flew over.
I checked crake hide on route
to Lapwing hide but other than two male and a female Goosander there was very
little. There were plenty of birds
visible from Lapwing hide, including four male and two female Goosanders and I
also counted seventy-eight Pintail on the shore of Brown’s Island. I caught up with Steve and Terry in Shoveler
hide where a Peregrine provided some nice views as it flew around the lagoon
for a few minutes before heading off to lagoon four.
We made a final check from
sandpiper hide on lagoon four where Steve picked up the Peregrine on island
seven. It then took off and was seen
flying around for quite some time and was often pursued by several Common
Gulls. It appeared to be enjoying the
attention and it looked as if it was in a mind to do so could have taken any
one of them at will but seemed content just playing with them. Terry had already left when the Peregrine was
putting on a superb display and I eventually left Steve who was planning to stay
to the death, either watching the gulls or going back to lagoon three and
hoping for the Bittern.
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