Champions of the Flyway!

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Winter Wonderland



Well, that might be stretching it a little, but it's an enjoyable time of year out there. A morning session at our mostly frozen East Lea reserve was enough to show that there's plenty going on here on the coast at the moment, with a mix of iconic midwinter species on the move and dropping in. There's been a significant influx of thrushes over recent days, with birds arriving on the coastal strip (fleeing even lower ground temperatures on the continent, inland, or both), and a steady stream of Fieldfares, Redwings and Blackbirds (with a few Song and Mistle Thrushes thrown in to complete the set).


There's also build-ups of Wigeon and Teal locally - see the distinctly spring-like behaviour of a pair of the latter further down the page - but the stars of the show were 24 White-fronted Geese (pictured here variously mingling with ferals and ignoring the farm cat - can you spot it....?) which are likely the flock from earlier in the week which has pulled in another five birds since then.