Kristian's Wildlife Blog

Arriving at Cutacre Country Park at around 9am, I soon realised I might have made a mistake coming on Sunday. The place was heaving with walkers and dogs, with many people completely ignoring the paths and wandering across the grassland and wetlands. Nevertheless, I made my way along Engine Lane, hearing Willow Tit and seeing Jay , to Swan Lake. 1 Mute Swan had returned since the lake froze over, but waterfowl numbers are still well down generally. 2 Gadwall and 1 Tufted Duck were the only notable birds. I accidentally flushed a Woodcock from next to the path and saw 2 Grey Partridge flying across the grassland in the distance. I then walked towards the Scrape, which had been cleared of some of the reeds which had started to take over. Walking around the pond and thinking that it was deserted of birds, I was shocked when Snipe began erupting from hidden cover. I counted at least 18 Common Snipe , but there may have been more. With Snipe still whirling around, all of a sudden a rapt...

After initially thinking of heading to North Wales for a Surf Scoter that had been present during the week, our plans changed with a Lesser White-Fronted Goose was reported in Northumberland the previous day. Setting off at about 6:30am, with Carl driving, we made the 3-hour journey to Big Waters NR in Northumberland. Upon arriving, we found that most of the lake was frozen, with only a small exposed area in the centre. An American Wigeon has been present at the site for a while now and would be a new species for me. Thankfully, another birder soon turned up, and with his scope soon picked out the American Wigeon . It was well hidden - surrounded by around 100 Eurasian Wigeon . The views were clear through the scope but the bird was largely obscured by the surrounding birds. Amongst the commoner waterfowl, there were also several Tufted Duck , Pochard , Goldeneye , Common Gull , lots of Lapwing , a Great Black-Backed Gull and a female Pintail . Unfortunately the regular Iceland Gull w...

With freezing but clear conditions I visited Martin Mere, Lancashire this morning with Austin driving. The main attraction was a Yellow-Browed Warbler which had been present for a few days just outside of the reserve near the sewage works. We arrived at about 9:30am and made our way along the frozen paths to the outer fence of the sewage works, where a line of hedgerows and trees runs parallel. There were already a couple of birders present, and it wasn't long before we spotted the Yellow-Browed Warbler . The bird showed at close range, but typically for this species was nearly always obscured by branches. It had a habit of working the hedge line before jumping up onto the fence and then flying into the sewage works. We saw it actively looking for spider webs on the concrete tanks of the sewage works. One of the few moments where the Yellow-Browed Warbler didn't have a million branches in front of it! The angle was never quite right when the bird landed on the fence The area w...

Setting off at a slightly ridiculous hour, me and Carl made the 5-hour journey down to Devon today, hoping to connect with some of the long-staying rarities. The weather forecast actually didn't look too bad - some light rain in the morning followed by sun in the afternoon. However, upon arrival at the first site, Slapton Ley, it became clear that the weather was *slightly* worse than expected! Sideways wind and driving rain greeted us at the car park at first light. Thankfully, there were plenty of gulls around - Black-Headed , Herring , Great Black-Backed , Lesser Black-Backed and even a Kittiwake . Then, another gull flew in, which even from a distance looked different. As it came nearer, it became obvious that it was the Laughing Gull . This American species looked very different to our native gulls - surprisingly long winged and more buoyant in flight. The bird showed extremely well, flying metres overhead and resting on the beach a few metres away. Unfortunately, all my imag...

A last-minute decision to visit Lunt Meadows LWT with Carl this evening, in the hopes of seeing the long-staying ringtail Hen Harrier. Arriving at around 15:30, the sun was already quite low but the light was actually really nice. Within a matter of minutes, a raptor emerged from above one of the more obscured reedbeds, which was quickly confirmed to be the ringtail Hen Harrier . Over the next 30 minutes, the bird showed really well if distantly. I've seen a few Hen Harriers now but this was definitely my most prolonged views. Ringtail Hen Harrier , showed well but stayed low and distant throughout Soon after, a pale shape moving across the far end of the reserve turned out be a Barn Owl . By 16:00, there were at least three hunting the reserve, two of which came quite close. One of three Barn Owls hunting the reserve at dusk Other sightings included decent numbers of Shoveler and Teal on the main lake, hundreds of Pink-Footed Geese moving over head, several Kestrels and a single...