January 2010 - Old Moor RSPB

Friday 1st: A new year, and what better way to clear the head, than go out for a bracing walk in the freezing cold. At the reserve, all the lakes were frozen solid except for a few small ice-free patches on the largest - the Mere. Getting there at 10:20am, I had a good start and it turned-out to be a cracking day!



Seeking Yellowhammers, I was advised to go to the "play-area" by the Warden, where some had been seen...and sure enough, I saw my FIRST Yellowhammer, a male perched in the hawthorn shrubs a short distance away. A male Greenfinch was perched close by - one of few as the majority of Greenfinches I saw that morning were females! By the "Tree Sparrow farm", a small patch of ground with thistles appeared to be crawling with Goldfinches...I've never seen so many in one place and there were many more! Over at the hide I was presented with the spectacle of passerines of Greenfinch (many more females than males), Goldfinch, Chaffinch, all of which, I lost count as they were in abundance! Along with the former were a couple of Tree Sparrows, 4 Reed Buntings, a Robin, one Dunnock, a Moorhen, several Blackbirds - both male and female, a Stonechat and perched in the hawthorns another 2 YELLOWHAMMERS! There were so many birds that who knows what I didn't see! I'd spent an hour and a half just at this one spot...a great start to the day.

At the Mere, a lake where most waterfowl tend to congregate, I was surprised to see that most of it was still frozen and that only 4 small patches were ice-free where ducks and gulls of various species were unusually crammed together "beak-by-bill"! What I did notice too was that there were no Geese or Swans of any description present. The sight of hundreds of Wigeon and Pochard roaming across the grassland on the far side of the lake, nibbling at the grass made for a fascinating sight. But the highlight was the 7 GOOSANDERS (4 male & 3 female) amongst the various waterfowl packed together in an ice-free area. This is a FIRST for me! The male is easily distinguished from the female by its black head and white body, click RSPB info on Goosanders, whereas the female has a brown head and grey body. Both have bright red legs. Although the Goosanders were amongst all the other waterfowl, I had my scope and saw some good views. The two images below are stills taken from a video.



I then paid a visit to the Wath Ings hide were the lake was totally ice-bound. Nothing at all about except for the Kestrel perched on the bird house alongside the hide. There were also some unusal Sheep grazing closeby. See the image below.






Time was now getting late, the tempreture had dropped noticably and I was hungry and ready for a hot cup of tea. So, walking back to the Visitor Center, I made a short detour towards the Reedbed Hide where I saw and videoed a rather obliging Stonechat (the second of the day) on the fence. To round off the day, while have a cuppa in the cafe and peering through the window down onto the feeders, I got a very good showing of a female Bulfinch together with Blue and Great Tits. So, although it was a very cold day, it was also a very full and fruitful day for bird watching.

November 2009 - Correction: Pochard female at Lakeside.

Saturday 7th: What a difference a day makes! After a week of rain, today we awoke to a bright sunny morning. A trip down to the Lakeside was called for! But it was chilly and even colder down by the water, definitely coat and gloves weather! The usual suspects were there; Mute Swans circa 30+, Canada Geese patrolling in small family parties, maybe 50+, Mallards circa 40+, Tufted Ducks 20+, Black-headed Gulls circa 40+ along with a Little Grebe, a juvenile Great Crested Grebe (on it's own) and a solitary duck that I couldn't readily identify. Luckily I had taken photos and short videos. After checking with my Birdguides DVD and other sources I have now positively identified this as a female Ring-necked Duck.





As the two photos above show, there is a ring around it's eye. click on each image to see a larger version and one can just see the white band across the bill. The duck was in a group of Tufted Ducks, but the difference in shape and size is readily apparent when compared to a female Tufty. And of course, it has no tuft at the back of it's head! I saw no sign of a male Ring-necked Duck and would welcome any comments about this sighting. Below is a short video of the Pochard.
Correction: After a comment on www.youtube.com , Mel and I have identified this duck as a female Pochard.







The image below shows a pair of Canada Geese. One of these is seen "scolding" the other. This went on for some time without the other replying. They swam as a pair away with the "Scolding" still in progress but to a lesser extent. Is this a male asserting itself over a rival? Comment are welcomed.





I also noticed a Great Crested Grebe juvenile that was most definitely alone. It seemed in good health and large enough to survive. Do the adults cut them loose after a few months?



And of course, the Black-headed Gull. Always seen and most numerous on many lakes and fields.