January

A few bits from January 2023 I haven't shared here yet. 

Longham Lakes was pretty quiet on New Year's Day but there appeared to be an especially large number of cormorants. 

Also present were a pair of little grebes which are always nice to see.

A visit to Blashford Lakes on 21st January provided me of distant views of many, many pintails. I've seen these ducks on occasion but never in the enormous number I saw on this day. Doubting myself, I checked the ID on the boards in the hide and the label said that large numbers of pintails flock to the lakes when the Avon Valley is flooded, which it was after the huge amounts of rain we had in the first half of the month. I can't quite work out why the flooding causing them to come to the lakes though. 

It's difficult to make out a they were all some way from the hide but there loads of pintails in this image

I saw most of the other expected duck species during my visit including some close views of a pochard. 

 

Robins are known for often being quite brave around humans but during this visit to Blashford one happily sat within touching distance of me for some time. This allowed me to get some really close-up shots. 

I also captured a decent view of a redwing. My feeling is that there has been an especially large number of these birds locally this winter though I don't know whether that's supported by proper records or not.

Finally, here's a wren in poor light at Moors Valley last weekend.