Mothering Sunday Birding

After surviving Mothering Sunday,  I decided to reward myself with a quick trip (of what was left of daylight hours) to Brandon Marsh.  I left my birder’s wife curled up on the sofa with the Sunday papers and accompanied the Capt, who was clearly traumatised with the Sunday lunch she had been to, where she had not only been forced to act out the “happy families” facade but even worse, inadvertently ate some mashed swede.

As we arrived at the visitors centre, the sky darkened to the same colour as our moods and the heavens opened, but not before we managed to seek refuge in East Marsh Hide.  It was so dark that I could hardly see the main island , let alone the Snipe and Lapwing on it.  Through the gloom we could just about make out the male and female Goldeneye along with the usual ducks.  Between showers, we dashed to Carlton Hide and as the weather improved were rewarded with great views of the Barn Owl hunting over the Newlands reed bed.  As we left, with the temperature plummeting, some Fieldfare zoomed by on their way to roost somewhere.  So, winter is clinging on at Brandon, although signs of spring are in the air with the first reports of Chiff Chaffs.

Today, despite quite a heavy frost, the day turned out quite warm and I decided during my lunch break to take a stroll along the River Leam, not far from where I work.  The area with full of birdsong and calls and I was rewarded with the sight of 2 Treecreepers, 2 Goldcrests, a Long Tailed Tit and 3 buzzards enjoying the thermals above the town.  I even thought I heard a Chiff Chaff in the distance.