After getting the gear together i began my walk down towards the River Ancholme.Some nice views of the resident Wigeon flock were had and numbered around 100 birds,but as on previous visits were again difficult to get an accurate count of.They were again constantly being flushed and 2 of the culprits were eventually seen,a 3rd calendar year male Marsh Harrier and a juvenile Peregrine.The latter which was probably a male,as he looked quite small when alongside the Marsh harrier.
Other birds observed before i reached the river included a hand full of Common Buzzards and 5 lovely Roe Deer.
After arriving at the river i spent some time watching and scanning the surrounding area seeing a further 2 Roe Deer,a nice sized flock of 33 Redshank and a further 3 Marsh Harrier(another 3rd calendar year which was different to the earlier bird) and 2 juv/female type birds and a good sized flock of about 450 Teal.The Teal where incredibly difficult to get an accurate count on as with the Wigeon,as every time i got anywhere near them they all scattered.
I decided to walk towards Saxby Bridge to see if i could get anywhere nearer to the Teal,again without success,but i could see the Swan flock was still on the same field of Oilseed rape as they have been all winter.The 2 lovely Whooper Swans were still present,but today the Mute's had increased to 23 birds,from 15 on my last visit.
After enjoying my time watching from my vantage point,i began the return walk back towards the car.
A further 2 Roe Deer,different to the earlier animals,made up an impressive total of 9 animals for the day,the most i have seen down here for a while.
As i carried on walking,2 Short-eared Owl hunted the usual set aside and dykes between Bonby and Worlaby Carrs and overhead the Peregrine from earlier zoomed off towards Saxby chasing an unseen target.
As i neared the car several nice sightings included the usual Barn Owl from the village hunting the pasture fields,one of the earlier young male Marsh Harriers hunting the same area as the Short-eared Owls and the most significant sighting of the day,32 Corn Bunting feeding in a wet stubble field near the Soak Drain.
The Corn Buntings were the first i had seen down here for quite a while and were feeding in the same field as a mixed flock of 25 Yellowhammer,50 Fieldfare and smaller numbers of Starlings.It was really great to see this declining Farmland bird,thankfully still in the local area.
Another great visit today to this cracking area.
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| The 2 Whooper Swans,along with part of the Mute Swan flock,Appleby Carrs. |
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