Ducks and Swans

Ducks....... on the 14th January I joined Gen on a 'Duck Hunt' along the River Flit, through Flitwick Moor and Flitton Moor then on to Hollington Basin. It was a beautifully bright and frosty morning and although I started out in fog it was clear and sunny in Flitwick.
Our first significant bird of the morning was a lovely Goldcrest which alerted us to it's presence by it's call whilst it flitted through a garden conifer. Of ducks - not a lot to see. Our sightings were all on the millstream and river and amounted to Moorhen, Mallards and this odd hybrid!

Hybrid duck

We really enjoyed the walk despite the lack of ducks. There were 3 Grey Heron, standing in meadows, looking a bit fed up and two very vocal Little Egret flew over. This picture of the Soay sheep used for managing the Moor reminds me of the wintry views sometimes found on Christmas cards and jigsaws.

Best of all, was a pair of Bullfinches that were feeding on seed heads near the path. I managed to get a couple of photos but before I could get close enough for a decent shot a dog-walker disturbed the birds and they flew off.

Male Bullfinch

Unfortunately all the shallow water, including Hollington Basin was frozen and any water birds had gone elsewhere to feed.

Swans....... on Sunday 15th we went to the Ouse Washes and Welney with the Bedford RSPB Local Group. We visited the Ouse Washes first and were pleased to see that despite there being plenty of ice there were still plenty of birds. I was very glad not to be there to count them as there were Wigeon everywhere as well as plenty of Teal, some beautiful Pintails, Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Dunlin and a Temmincks Stint that some saw and others didn't. I think we saw it but as it was at distance we weren't sure. We had good views of a female Merlin hunting.

After lunch we visited Welney WWT. This was a chance for possibly the last visit this winter while the Bewick's and Whoopers are here. We certainly saw more Bewick's than we had last time we visited and they were better views. Malcolm took some video of this pair head-bobbing.

It was very busy in the main observation hide so we walked down to Lyle Hide, just in time to get good views of a perched Peregrine before it flew off. We were also lucky to see a small group of European White-fronts feeding with some Greylags. Although the hide was busy, people were sharing the space well and everybody managed to get a good view of a ringtail Hen Harrier that flew over. As the afternoon progressed the temperature dropped and light faded so we returned to the visitor centre to enjoy a hot chocolate and fantastic views of a hunting Barn Owl as it flew past the windows.