A dim but very calm day today and the numbers of winter visitors are beginning to build up at Eske. On my walk to the lake this morning I saw just 2 Meadow Pipits and a group of about 100 Common Gulls on the way up. However, at the lake hundreds of Redwings and Fieldfares kept flying out of the trees and bushes and wildfowl numbers had increased a little since last week.

Most interesting was a Chiffchaff calling from amongst some willows. I don’t see very many Chiffchaffs here in the spring or summer and it may be that this one has arrived to winter here; one did so last winter. Wildfowl and waterbird numbers were 9 Mute Swans, 26 Greylag Geese, 64 Tufted Ducks, 14 Shoveler, 51 Wigeon, 163 Mallard, 11 Teal, 3 female Goldeneye, 13 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Little Grebe, 4 Gadwall, 1 female Pochard, 11 Cormorants and a handful of Coots and Moorhens.

At the small pond at Pulfin Fen I watched a Moorhen cruising along, minding its own business, casually pecking at a piece of vegetation whenit was mugged by a Coot. Instead of letting go of the reedy fragment it pulled back on it. The Coot also pulled and it created something of a tug-of-war. Neither bird would give up and some flapping and scratching began followed by the Coot pecking the Moorhen. Eventually the Moorhen won the pulling battle and the Coot just sat there and watched the Moorhen finish its piece of weed. Peculiar really, it’s not like there isn’t plenty of weed to go around.

I also noticed a colourful tree beginning to lose its leaves, with a bright yellow fringe.

A few other birds were feeding in the trees, with fewer leaves on the trees they are easier to see now; a Great Spotted Woodpecker on a dead tree, a few Blue Tits, a Great Tit and some Chaffinches were easy to pick out amongst huge flocks of Redwings. On the way back I noticed a Grey Heron in a field and a female Kestrel hunting in a fashion more like a Sparrowhawk. By this time the wind had increased and it was a good time to go home for lunch.

birding, birds, nature