13th March 2024: Woods Mill at lunchtime

-

 We needed to do a quick car parking recce for an upcoming SDOS walk at Tottington Woods, and as this is so close to Woods Mill we decided to drop by, in search of the Water Rail which has been reported there over recent weeks. 

Rumour had it that early morning was the time to go, and a class of small noisy children playing near the car park was not a promising sign, but we headed to the hide anyway with low expectations of success. However, we had only a short wait before the target bird appeared, wandering across the muddy area right in front of the hide, very relaxed and actively feeding just feet away from us. Magical!

Water Rail

It was very peaceful here, and we lingered for some time watching the supporting cast of tits coming and going to the feeders, and Dunnocks hopping and foraging on the ground. A gorgeous Nuthatch flew on to the feeder, causing the other birds to rapidly disperse. The pecking order in action!

A lovely male Reed Bunting in pristine breeding plumage was more cautious and pretty flighty, but unable to resist the easy pickings on offer. Eventually we tore ourselves away to head home for a rather late lunch.

Reed Bunting

Nuthatch


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Friday 5th January 2024: Pesky Parakeets

-
Image
 On our day out yesterday we had a fly past Parakeet, but I was not very satisfied with that as an annual sighting tick. With the feeders topped up, mum’s garden is a good bet for this species, much to her chagrin. So today we were thrilled, and mum dismayed, to spot no less than five birds on the feeders. Ring-necked Parakeets  Despite their bad press and dubious provenance, they are certainly attractive birds, especially the male with its rosy ring and contrasting black bib, and the orange-red bill and eye ring contrasting with the vibrant green plumage.  Less attractive is their screeching call as they descend on the feeders and announce their presence. Now, that’s a worthy tick!
Read more

Sunday 27th June: Roller in Suffolk

-
Image
 After daily reminders from Jenny that a Eurasian roller was still present in Suffolk I finally made the effort to go to see it and took advantage of the trip to visit several other local sites which were of interest to me.  My first stop was at the tiny village of Ampton where I normally find my annual tick for tree sparrow and this year was no exception as I saw one within 20 seconds of getting out of my car.  After watching it for a minute or so I quickly moved on to the next venue which was Lackford Lakes, a Suffolk wildlife trust reserve which had been reporting a juvenile glossy ibis for a few days.  I was told by someone in the car park exactly where it had been seen recently but he had not seen it that day when he had walked around earlier.  When I arrived at the hide 3 other birders were there but they had not seen it and so after 10 minutes I gave up waiting for it to show and moved on to try to see the roller. I had seen a number of birders along the A1101 as I drove past on
Read more

Wednesday 8th November 2023: Brazil Atlantic Rainforest 1

-
Image
 We arrived at Rio early in the morning following an overnight flight of 11 hours, and were soon en route to our accommodation at Itororo Lodge, set in the heart of the forest, close to Nova Friburgo. As we sped through Rio, a few distant egrets, Neotropical Cormorants and Magnificent Frigatebirds were seen, together with plenty of Black Vultures resting on lampposts close to the busy road. After around an hour of driving we stopped for coffee, noting Blue and White Swallows nesting under the eaves of the adjacent building, a Yellow-headed Caracara perched atop a tall tree together with a Kiskadee and a pair of stunning, bright Saffron Finches perched on the wires.  Our birding adventure had begun…! Brassy-breasted Tanagers We continued on to our base at the beautiful Itororo Lodge,  arriving mid-morning to tea and cake on the terrace, where a feast of birds met our eyes.  The feeding tables were arrayed with fruit, attracting beautiful tanagers with brilliant, rich colours and wonderf
Read more