A still and calm – quiet morning until the morning flights startup!
With a wingspan of 208-238 cm – about 7 to 8 feet a Mute Swan is a large bird in flight its wing flapping sounds like a gate that needs a good oil – you can hear the power and these morning flight break the silence of calm over the pound.
Two Moorhen waiting for their departure slot! I have not seen Moorhen’s up a tree before.
Cadman’s Pool is in the heart of the New Forest. A very dull misty morning but lots of small birds were very active and despite the poor light levels I was happy with my results.
Nuthatch.
Chaffinch.(male)
Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Blue Tit.
Marsh Tit.
The British Robin is synonymous with Christmas. Today while gardening I went armed with my camera.
A Black-necked Grebe in winter plumage at Arundel wetland centre. This grebe is one of a number of breeding captive birds at WWT centre. A rare bird in the UK. (breeding: 32-51 pairs and wintering:130 birds)
A mixed bad of birds at Titchfield Haven this afternoon. I was looking for 4 and 20 blackbirds and Partrages in pear trees but only found – Snipe, Lapwing, Teal, and a Black-tailed Godwit.
The drama unfolds on the shore often over food. Sanderlings feed on little invertebrates, worms and shrimps at low tide. The Black-headed gulls have worked out it is easier to steal a meal rather than catch their own.
A Sanderling weight is 50 -60 grams and a Black-headed gull’s weight is 200-400g so the gull is the bully but the Sanderling is extremely fast so they do not give up their meal that often.
Tufted Duck. Smaller than a mallard. The numbers of these diving ducks increase in the UK in winter because of birds moving to the UK from Iceland and northern Europe.
These are male ducks the females are chocolate brown in colour.
Dalmatian pelican – Are the largest and rarest of the pelican species with a wingspan up to 11 feet. Once a common sight in the UK (2000 years ago). Sadly they became extinct here, due to the loss of wetlands and being hunted for food.
On a dull day, a flash of orange brightens the day. Both Black-headed gulls and Redshank’s legs colours are bright and a standout.
A misty damp morning down on the coast this morning.
Shoveler duck passing a snipe.
Lots of Snipe about today also spotted 2 Bearded tits in the reeds a 1st I have seen in many years.
A very distant Bearded Tim deep in the reeds – sadly the best picture I could get!
Link to view a Bearded Tit.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/bearded-tit/
