I planned an early morning walk along the river today but
the fog was too thick so I didn’t get down there until lunchtime. Almost the
first birds I had were a skein of nine Whooper Swans. This would have been a
nice picture of them if I had remembered to zoom!
Nine birds flew north from Wheldrake Ings earlier in the day
so I suspect these are the same birds. I will have to find out what time they
left and work out the flight speed. There seems to be a very early movement of
the species this year, perhaps not surprising in this stunning weather.
Otherwise it was very quiet, there were two pairs of Oystercatchers
(both looking pretty settled rather than the usual February birds which just
pass through) plus a single drake Teal, Green Sandpiper and three Common Gulls.
Earlier in the week the Bottom Fields held a flock of 31
Corn Buntings, the highest count for quite a few years, and sixteen Curlew. A
pair of Buzzards were displaying over the Magic Garden and the regularity of
sightings here mean there must be a good chance of nesting this year.
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