Museum Gardens, Blacktoft Sands and North Duffield Carrs

 

Usual monthly walk in the Museum gardens with Isabelle on Wednesday morning. We started at the bird feeding station where there were lots of birds visiting the bird feeders. Blue and great tits and a new one for our survey a coal tit. Lots of visitors in the gardens, but not many more birds, the only other highlight was a flyover by a peregrine falcon. Was it from the Minster? Sadly I did not have time to check.

This mornings planned shopping trip was cancelled so I set off for Blacktoft. When I arrived just before 11am there were 24 vehicles in the car park. I thought that the majority of them might be at Singleton looking at waders, so I chose to go to Ousefleet.

the recent high tides had filled the paddock that the ponies were grazing in .

This is Ousefleet Lagoon, again filled by the high tide. Lots of greylag geese, and a few canada geese.

Lots of teal, mallard and a few shoveler. On the island amongst the geese were 2 shelduck, 1 curlew sandpiper, several redshank, 3 ruff and several black-tailed godwits. As you can see from the photo the weather was not brilliant, cloudy and a cool breeze. 

On my way to Marshland hide I passed Carl and John. They had been in Marshland hide for most of the morning and had seen several waders until a small raptor flushed them all. They had left the hide as the wind was increasing and was blowing straight into the hide.

Marshland lagoon was full of water but there was plenty of mud around the edges.

Most of the birds were asleep and sheltering from the wind. The other birders in the hide were wearing gloves!

Reedling had 2 grey herons, 2 little egrets, 2 mallards and a little grebe. 1st, Townend and Singleton had no birds at all. It was now afternoon so I decided to leave there were still 22 vehicles in the car park but I had only seen 11 people!!  I called in at North Duffield Carrs on my way home.

Blue sky, sunshine and no wind, what a difference from Blacktoft. However, Blacktoft had hundreds of geese and ducks and about 50 waders. NDC had 2 wrens, 2 stonechats, 4 carrion crows and a distant marsh harrier.

Aire Valley tomorrow.