View from the Freezer:-
All 4 main pools were 90% iced over, bunching wildfowl into the small ice free areas & allowing good opportunities to have a look through the gulls on the ice.
Several hundred Herring gulls, with a dozen or so 'Scandinavian' birds & once again our Yellow-legged Gull present for around 30 mins - one previous sighting this month by Mick, who initially picked this bird up on the Biffa landfill 6 or 7 years ago, & its been overwintering ever since.
This bird gets picked up the Biffa site, Hetton Lyons & in the coastal roost at Roker from time to time - not that common a sight in NE England.
Drake Goldeneye
Teal roosting - theyll fly out at nightfall to feed
Still 30+ Gadwall - outnumbering Mallards today:=
Lapwings looked somewhat baffled by the ice
Coots in snow flurry on an ice free patch
parts of 2 Long-eareds - backs to us due to the weather
taken from a public footpath close to the nature reserve
DJ clocked a couple of Roe from the hide :-


























Did you put up so many pics of the YLGull on purpose? ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry Andrew, missed a couple off....
ReplyDeletethought I'd put 20 up.....
Gives good idea of what to look for & illustrates how "its" jizz can change
Hope you catch up with it b4 2long
No sign today for an hour similar time of day - still lots of ice & good viewing
Cu
Only messin Steve, good to see so many pics of the bird. I'm just jealous, looks stunning. My mission is to see a Caspian Gull here turn of the New Year, a nice 1st winter would be nice.
ReplyDelete