All Together Now

Yet more evidence of spring at Inner Marsh Farm this morning, with a Lapwing tumbling and spiralling in display flight over the set aside.

You could have forgiven it for just roosting with the other birds at the back of number one pool as the dull, wet and windy conditions that comprise the continuing unacceptable face of January presided over affairs yet again.

Plenty of birds though this morning, with good numbers of Wigeon, Teal and Lapwing on the reserve, although virtually all were only subject to scrutiny by telescope as only a handful of birds were on the hide pool.

Despite the very high water levels there were a few small groups of Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank and Ruff on number one pool and it is heartening to think during this bleak month that it won’t be too long before the first Avocets return.

Connah’s Quay almost held a mirror-image of the birds at IMF, with the addition of a few hundred Canada Geese. Two decent flocks of Pinkies way off towards Gayton Sands were a welcome sight, whilst a Peregrine perched on the edge of White Sands – in the face of modest competition – easily claimed its status as bird of the day.

It looks like the ‘wild’ swans have finally made it to the Shotwick Fields this winter as I clocked around forty birds grazing close to the roundabout near the new petrol station.

Last winter, counting them for my WeBS survey was as easy as kicking a blind man’s stick as they generally stuck to one large mixed flock off White Sands, but this time they seemed to have been much more itinerant appearing all over the estuary in varying numbers and species – awkward beggers!

Until later.