We ventured out this afternoon, following news on the grapevine of two nice birds in the local area at Burleydam - a pair of Whooper Swan and a Black-necked Grebe.
The lake which has formed at the start of a farm drive on Lodmoor Lane held good numbers of wildfowl upon arrival and has apparently been a permanent feature for 3 years following heavy flooding. We spent about an hour on site recording 30-40 Wigeon, 20 or so Teal, 10 Mute Swan, a Green Sandpiper, 50+ Lapwing and the target species, pictured below. The photo was taken on an iPhone 5 hand held to a Swarovski 80hd.
Whooper Swan and Black-necked Grebe.
Briefly onto a non-bird note, I have recently moved onto a canal boat with my girlfriend (Sam) and our dogs (Luna and Harpo) and have moored in Nantwich Marina and as such much more canal based and local birding will be on the cards. So back to the birds! Over the last few days there have been a few nice bits knocking around our moorings with at least 4 Tawny Owls very active in the lights of the Marina and extremely vocal, much to the detriment of our sleep! We have also had a regular kingfisher in the Marina which occasionally perches on our Tiller bar and a very active pair of Grey Wagtail. Of note - it is as worth a mention that a flock of 70+ House Sparrow, 100+ Skylark, 20+ Meadow Pipit and 20+ Linnet are currently wintering in the "mile field" of Welshmans lane on the outskirts of Nantwich. Please keep a watch on this place for more on our canal nature adventure!
Kingfisher on our boat
