Marton Mere 6
Tags barnacle geese, fieldfare, marton mere, stonechat, wren
I've not done too much birding over the last couple of months so, having finished work for a few days, I was keen to get out and about, despite the several inches of snow that was turning the art of walking into a full blown workout! Marton Mere was cold and bleak at 8.30am and as my feet sunk into deep snow I was begining to have second thoughts.
As soon as I walked into the reserve I saw a Kestrel perched in the upper branches of a tree and rattled off a few pics before it flew off. Then I remembered to take the lens cap off
I was soon cheered, however, by a sit down and a warm in the hide over looking the feeding station. There were many Chaffinches fighting over seeds, a female Reed Bunting, 3 female and 1 male Pheasant, many Magpies, a Woodpigeon, several Blue tits and Great tits, more Dunnock's than you could shake a stick at and several Robins. One in particular decided to see what all this bird watching malarky was all about and joined me in the hide.
On the partially frozen Mere there were many Wigeon, Teal, a handful of Shoveler ducks, a couple of Pochard, Tufted ducks, Mute Swans (No sign of the 40+ Whooper Swans reported 2 days ago!) and the usual Mallards, Coots and Moorhens.
Walking around the Mere perimeter, I saw many male and female Blackbirds, especially on the apple trees, devouring the remainder of the fruits. Herring gulls, Black-headed gulls, and Lesser Great black-backed gulls, Song Thrushes, several Wrens, Grey Heron and more Blue and Great tits. A Fieldfare was sat upon a treetop in the distance, this is a first for me so I was very pleased to see it, although I wasn't a 100% certain of the ID until the good people of the forum helped me out.
In the scrub, near the bridge over the sluice outlet, were 2 male Stonechat's, only my second sighting of these birds, the first was in March in almost the same location.
Flying over the Mere was a flock of 18 Barnacle geese, another first for me, and great to see so many flying quite low in formation. They circled the Mere 6 or 7 times, but I didn't see them land, except in the distant field of the adjacent farm.
All in all, an enjoyable couple of hours in the freezing cold, wet snow
I've put a few more pics in my Marton Mere 2 album.
As soon as I walked into the reserve I saw a Kestrel perched in the upper branches of a tree and rattled off a few pics before it flew off. Then I remembered to take the lens cap off
I was soon cheered, however, by a sit down and a warm in the hide over looking the feeding station. There were many Chaffinches fighting over seeds, a female Reed Bunting, 3 female and 1 male Pheasant, many Magpies, a Woodpigeon, several Blue tits and Great tits, more Dunnock's than you could shake a stick at and several Robins. One in particular decided to see what all this bird watching malarky was all about and joined me in the hide.
On the partially frozen Mere there were many Wigeon, Teal, a handful of Shoveler ducks, a couple of Pochard, Tufted ducks, Mute Swans (No sign of the 40+ Whooper Swans reported 2 days ago!) and the usual Mallards, Coots and Moorhens.
Walking around the Mere perimeter, I saw many male and female Blackbirds, especially on the apple trees, devouring the remainder of the fruits. Herring gulls, Black-headed gulls, and Lesser Great black-backed gulls, Song Thrushes, several Wrens, Grey Heron and more Blue and Great tits. A Fieldfare was sat upon a treetop in the distance, this is a first for me so I was very pleased to see it, although I wasn't a 100% certain of the ID until the good people of the forum helped me out.
In the scrub, near the bridge over the sluice outlet, were 2 male Stonechat's, only my second sighting of these birds, the first was in March in almost the same location.
Flying over the Mere was a flock of 18 Barnacle geese, another first for me, and great to see so many flying quite low in formation. They circled the Mere 6 or 7 times, but I didn't see them land, except in the distant field of the adjacent farm.
All in all, an enjoyable couple of hours in the freezing cold, wet snow
I've put a few more pics in my Marton Mere 2 album.
Total Comments 3
Comments
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A nice reward for braving the elements Alan,well done with the Fieldfare!
A super selection of pics,they are all good but I think the Pheasants is excellent!
I'm looking forward to a few days out & about birding next week!
Don't work too hard over xmas and have a good'un!
Posted 23-12-09 at 10:32 AM by Twitcheruth
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Thanks Ruth,
It was a nice morning, but bitterly cold. Wish the Stonechat and Fieldfare pics were better, but they'll do as record shots. I've a couple of more days left that I could do some birding locally before New Year, so I'll see if I can get some more ticks for my list, although I suspect 116 might be it - so now I know next years target!
Have a really nice Christmas and happy birding.Posted 23-12-09 at 05:51 PM by alanjns
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Sounds a good day Alan. I think getting out in the chilly weather is quite pleasant if you have the correct warm clothing on. Well done on your first Fieldfare nice birds they are.Posted 24-12-09 at 08:38 PM by JONNY74
