Geese

 There was a reasonable selection of geese at Hunston today including c.85 Greylags, 40 Canadas and two Egyptians as well as quite a few of dubious parentage from the farm next door! A Kingfisher at East Trout Lake was the best at the lakes which also held increasing numbers of Gadwall; the paths remained quiet however.

Firecrests

 Firecrests are apparently like buses... none for ages then two at once, on my year list a bit later than normal but very welcome at the gravel pits. Also another Bullfinch (and two more on the farm later- super year for these !) and a Treecreeper in the same area. A quick look for a Nuthatch but no joy alas and the wildfowl remained much the same...wherefore art thou Bittern?

Gulls

 A surprise at the lakes was an adult Yellow-legged Gull in with the Herring Gulls on the ice; flew before I could get much of picture as you can see below; also a few Common Gulls about and plenty of wildfowl but nothing out of the ordinary today. 

YLG (honest guv!) and Common Gull:

Bullfinches

Not a bad Bullfinch day! Five at Drayton, three elsewhere! Not much else going on at Drayton North & South, three pairs of Coal Tits now but that was about it; the lake is sill frozen atm.

Geese at Ivy Lake

 

Lockdown

Well I managed to get to 114 species for the Peninsula before the lockdown came and am now limited to the local gravel pits for a good few weeks. Surprisingly bumped into a few out of area birders there on Wednesday so I guess not everyone is abiding by the “local” edict; that said I am a believer in personal responsibility so at the end of the day it must be up to the individual to act as they see fit. 

One thing I do find annoying is that as a keyworker (as is the wife for the NHS) it’s Ok for us to work like dogs 24/7 (no day off for me until Xmas Day for me in 2020) but a  decent walk in the countyside or at the beach - no way!

I was heartened to see that the Angling Trust had managed to get fishing recognised as “exercise”; wouldn’t it be good if birding/seawatching was regarded in a similar light? Perhaps that is what birding is missing, an organisation that works for birders and is not conservation/survey/reserve/cash - centric. I’ve a feeling I might have a long wait for that one... 😀