Still cold
Its been another chilly night and morning with most of the pools and scrape still freezing. Despite the cold its turning in to a lovely sunny day, perfect for a visit to see our Bitterns!
Rushy Hide & Peng Observatory
A count of 81 Bewick's Swans this morning with a couple of new arrivals. Duck numbers remain static. A flock of Teal and Lapwing have taken to the Rushy and can often be seen at the back of the pools, sometimes staying during the morning and afternoon feeds. No sign of the Little Stint yet this morning.
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Holden Tower
A flock of 13 Crane dropped in to the Tack Piece first thing and were practically the one birds in the field until they were joined by a mixed flock of Canada and Greylag Geese. The White-fronted Gees remained in the field to the north of the Tack Piece, and at least 100 could be seen sat in the grass. Out on The Dumbles were 28 Great Black-backed Gulls, a flock of Barnacle Geese, two Buzzard and a Stonechat. A flock of Wigeon could be seen towards Mid Point, making the most of some unfrozen grazing along the river.
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Zeiss Hide
Other than a few pockets of open water containing a nice mix of Wigeon and Teal, the scrape was very quiet. It was strange to see 454 Dunlin stood on the ice with only 5 Lapwing. A Cetti's Warbler was singing from the reedbed.
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Kingfisher Hide
Great views of a Bittern this morning, preening in the early sunshine. The bird was in the reedbed as you look back towards the Zeiss Hide, so it may be worth trying the Van de Bovenkamp Hide too for views of this great bird. We know we've got at least 2 birds in this area, so keep your eyes open! A Water Rail ran across in front of the hide and out on the pond were 8 Gadwall and Little Grebe. The field behind the feeding station held 268 Lapwing.
