Twite
It was a WeBS count day (Wetland Bird Survey) so much of the morning to beyond midday was spent counting, I haven't had a chance to add up the totals from my notes but hope to do so so tomorrow.
Twite
A bit of extra excitement in the Holden Tower today. The wintering flock of Linnets were feeding closer to the Holden Tower late morning, they briefly dropped into a weedy hollow near to the cattle trough and had a smaller finch accompanying them. The Linnets are highly mobile and were very nervous, strong winds probably didn't help to calm them. Although jumpy they kept returning to the dry edges of the scrape and nearby grassland to feed. A number of brief views revealed a Twite, eventually settling long enough to gather the id features but it was rather challenging in the weather conditions. This small, streaky, brown finch is a very rare bird in Gloucestershire, the last record on the reserve was in 1984! The bird showed on and off with the Linnets over the next hour or so but all flew off N at approx 1.15pm. The Linnets regularly visit the dry hollows on the Dumbles and Tack Piece but also feed on foreshore weeds on the saltmarsh. We will be searching for it again tomorrow as it may well stay for the rest of the winter For updates please visit the @Slimbridge_Wild Twitter feed for any news we may have on this bird or visit the website.
Jack Snipe
This popular bird continued to show at the Martin Smith Hide today.
