Oldsquaws,Greenland Whitefront and Vipera berus.....

Male Adder,Laughton Forest.

A trip out today with Chris saw us visiting Barton first thing and seeing the pair of Long-tailed Duck still present on their temporary home,showing out in the middle of the pit along with about 30 Goldeneye,a good start.As Chris's main target today was the Greenland White-front,we made our way to Read's Island and after about 30 minutes we got onto it and it showed pretty well,with it's bright orange legs and carrot orange bill,a cracking bird!.Other goodies here included a superb juv. Peregrine watched chasing the local waders and a male and female Marsh Harrier.The last site we visited was Laughton Forest,where the highlights included a single Nuthatch at Owlet Plantation and my first male Adder of the year and a couple of Roe Deer.A good day out despite the dull weather.

Cats and Dogs....

A planned day out today had to be aborted due to the gorgeous weather we are experiencing at the moment,so i had a quick drive to Barton to look for the pair of Long-tailed Duck's currently residing on the Sailing pit there.After about 20 minutes i managed to see them through the torrential rain out in the middle of the pit with them looking quite at home on the choppy water,these are the first L.t.D's i have seen this year,so where a welcome sighting and i always think they are such an appealing duck species!.I had a quick drive around after seeing the duck's to look for the 'Pink' flock,but even they wern't stupid enough to show themselve's today.Oh well there's always tomorrow!.

Showy S.e.O's......

Sunset on the patch at Worlaby.

A visit to the patch for 3 hours this afternoon,saw the Short-eared Owl's putting on a fantastic show in the lovely afternoon sunshine.A total of 8 birds were seen today and put on a great display sparring with each other and hunting,with frequent calling involved,it would be great if a pair stopped to breed!.The best bird of the afternoon was also seen in the same vicinity as the Shorties,a cracking juv. male Hen Harrier which came into roost in the pasture field.As it flew in,it was briefly chased and mobbed by two of the S.e.O's and it looked like it had not long ago eaten,with it's crop looking full and it confirmed this by flying in and not getting up again,settling to roost.Other sightings included 9 of the ubiquitous Common Buzzard and 117 Fieldfare and the first signs of spring with a singing male Skylark.An enjoyable few hours on the patch.

Wild Geese and Bohemian beauties......

Jelly Ear,Far-Ings NNR,Barton.

Mute Swan pair,Far-Ings NNR,Barton.

A whole day to myself today as Trace was working,saw me visiting a few sites around the north of the county and i managed to see a few good birds in the blustery conditions.A short visit to Far-Ings revealed very little in the gale force wind,apart from a flock of 7 Goldeneye watched feeding on Ness Lake,but the best was yet to come.The best bird of the day was seen after a quick phone call from Graham saying he was watching the first winter Greenland Whitefront with a flock of 300 Pink's on fields between West Halton and Whitton.I got there within about 10 minutes,as luckily i had been watching a flock of over a 1000 Pink's near Winterton,looking for the bird Graham had rang me about,talk about being in the right area at the right time!.It showed well as it fed with the Pink's,the longer orange bill and darker overall plumage being very distinct when compared with the European species.This is my first sighting of this race,which is a proposed future split and was a great bit of experience to gain of this distinctive bird.The last place i visited was the local patch at Worlaby,which was a little bit on the windy side to say the least were the best sightings went to a beautiful flock of those Bohemian visitors from Scandinavia,23 Waxwings.They were watched feeding in a Guelder rose bush on the side of the small pond just over the railway crossing,giving superb views and resting in an adjacent Ash,my 3rd record for the patch!.Other sightings included 4 Common Buzzard,11 Corn Bunting,a 3rd calendar yr. male Marsh Harrier and 72 Fieldfare.Non-bird sightings today included a Weasel carrying a Shrew,seen while watching the Pink's at Winterton and 2 Roe Deer at Worlaby.It was hard work today in the weather conditions,but very rewarding!.

Worlaby Carrs....

A visit to the patch after work this afternoon to see what was about resulted in few highlights to write home about.The best sightings went to the brilliant Asio's,with 5 being seen today hunting mainly to the right of the car park area.They didn't particularly show that closely today,but are always a privelage to see,lovely birds!.Other bird sightings included 5 of the ever present Common Buzzard's,watched soaring and hunting in the blustery conditions,10 Kestrel,30 Goldfinch and a gathering of 35 Magpies going to roost.Mammal sightings went to 3 lovely Roe Deer,watched on the fields to the north of Carr lane,always a joy to see.A nice couple of hours,despite the strong wind.