Wednesday 30 January 2019

North Cave Wetlands

Early Sunday we headed over to the Wetlands for a walk in the freezing windy winter sun! I think it got colder too as the morning went on!

Still we had a good walk and parts of the reserve where chock full of birds! At the feeders we saw Tree and House Sparrows, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits, Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Reed Buntings and Moorhen!

Great Tit


Goldfinch & Tree Sparrows


Long-tailed Tits



Reed Bunting


Tree Sparrows &  Goldfinch


Dunnock


Blue Tit


On the water I saw the some of the largest flocks of ducks i've ever seen - Shelduck, Pochard, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal, plus Greylag Geese, Herons, Little Grebes, Black-headed and Herring Gulls, Redshank and a large flock of Lapwings.

Shelduck


Ducks as far as the eye can see!




Overhead a Marsh Harrier was flying about, we also saw a couple of Fieldfare and Cormorants fly over.

We were looking out over the many ducks on the lake when I saw some birds in the tree nearby - bright yellow - Siskins - there were both male and female, around 8 birds hanging from various branches. It's not a bird I see often so quite a treat to see so many at once.




Don't let the sunny photos deceive, it was bitter and even I'd had enough by the time we'd walked round! It's always worth getting out though, regardless of the weather.




11 comments:

  1. I must admit we were going to go out Sunday but it was such a cold wind we decided not to bother so well done on braving the elements :) From all your sightings and photos it looks as though it was worth it! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was worth it but I don't blame you for not going out, that wind brrr!!

      Delete
  2. It was worth heading out for, you saw a good range of species. I worked on Sunday but wasn't tempted outdoor afterwards due to the wind and cold! There wasn't any sunshine with it here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were really glad to get home and warm!! I think if we hadn't had the sunshine we wouldn't stayed so long!

      Delete
  3. As long as you keep moving the cold is bearable...you picked the right words, chock full of birds. I would enjoy seeing that many ducks at once for sure!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes got to keep moving! It was quite a sight, I enjoyed picking my way through them with the bins to see what was there.

      Delete
  4. Looks like a cold but fascinating walk and you saw so many wonderful birds:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think combination of cold and sun had a lot of the smaller birds on the move, there were lots of them too, definitely made for a fascinating walk :)

      Delete
  5. Cold fingers and toes, should be on a top when out bird watching :) Nice selection of birds Pam. Looking forward to seeing what you see in the year ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am glad that you did not let a little cool weather deter you from enjoying the outdoors, Pam. I have just returned from a couple of weeks in Costa Rica, where the temperature was in the mid thirties every day with hundred percent humidity. I'll take a cold day over that any time.

    ReplyDelete