Goosander, and a few Waxwings.

22nd February
A quick run up to Heathfield to try for the Waxwings that have been around for a few weeks, cant think they are going to stay for much longer. Their preferred feeding site was a little precarious as they were feeding on rosehips on the central reservation of the main A38!. I saw nine perched in the roadside trees and occasionally dropping down out of sight, had a good look at them and took just a couple of poor record shots as the traffic whizzed by. Spent much of the rest of the day at the adjacent Stover lake, not too much to see , except for ten Goosander which I spent a good while photographing,, though never really coming close enough.

Female Goosander with three males

Male Goosander

Goosander pair

Male Goosander

Male Goosander

Waxwing always nice to see.

Waxwing

Male Mandarin,

Female Mandarin, nest boxes are provided for them .

Mute Swan fly past

A Day off

10th Febuary 2017
First day out for a while , but where to go,? ,did,nt want to drive too far, so opted for Walmsley then onto Porth resevior and finally onto the Gannel estuary at Newquay. It started out overcast but Walmsley was thronging with birds, and although most were too far away for any decent photos it was still nice to see thousands of Golden Plover and Lapwings, the Plovers particularly spectacular when the flock took flight. Also two (or three?) Spoonbills were typically asleep with their heads and bills tucked away. Onto Porth but no sign of the Iceland Gull which has been here at times. Finally onto Newquay and the Gannel where a number of Cattle Egrets have been coming into roost recently. Luckily a nice chap informed me of where they have been feeding and I managed to catch up with (only one) bird, though very distant.

Golden Plover-Walmsley

Male Shoveller-Walmsley

Sleepy Spoonbills-Walmsley

Kingfisher-Gannel

Little Egret-Gannel

Redshank-Gannel

Oystercatcher-Gannel

Mediteranean Gull-Gannel