Brandon Marsh

In order to escape the pre - Christmas dash,  I thought I would go over to Brandon Marsh and just sit in a hide and be peaceful.  It turned out to be a beautiful day with the light being fantastic to examine the gull flock closely.  Unfortunately, there were no unusual species to be found but there were good numbers of Common Gull amongst the many Black Headed Gulls.  A Sparrowhawk flew over the Lapwing flock on a couple of occasions which made them quite jumpy but other than that everything was very peaceful with the usual ducks, which included two Goldeneye.  The Water rails round the reserve seemed to be quite vocal and the Snipe numbers seem to be increasing with a count of 8 in total (although I am sure I missed a few).


On returning home and checking my records, it appears that I have not missed as many birds this year as I claim and have had one of my best birding years to date.  Most notable birds that I have missed this year have been Little Tern and Tawny Owl.  Others I have tried for but missed have been Bean Goose, Cattle Egret, Grey Phalarope, Mealy Redpoll, Nightingale, Pectoral Sandpiper and Turtle Dove.  Oh well, there is always next year.


I hope everyone has a good Christmas and a great 2012 birding year.


Below are some of my memories from 2011:-