I arrived just after dawn in the hope of seeing some Owls,but unfortunately didn't see any again today,but the rest of the birding made up for it.
After parking in my usual spot beside the Soak Drain,a 360 degree scan revealed 2 Grey Heron,35 Mallard and 2 Mute Swan feeding in and along the banks of the drain,while over towards Worlaby,the local Rooks were leaving their night time roost and spilling onto the fields to search for their breakfasts.
As on my last visit there were decent numbers of passerines present and this included at least 3500 Starlings,350 Fieldfare,21 Yellowhammer,8 Corn Bunting,15 Reed Bunting and a bit of a rarity down here,2 Bullfinch.
The Starlings and Felfares were scattered all over the place and i never did see the culprit which was upsetting them until i reached the river later.
On the wet pastures there were still good numbers of Teal & Wigeon present and surprisingly a big flock for here,35 Mute Swan.It was a tad confusing at first,as i could hear Whooper Swans bugling,but couldn't see any at first,but then the 2 adults from my last visit were seen in amongst the Mute Swan flock eventually being joined by another 2 adults.The second pair were very vocal and put on a great show of head bobbing and bugling,what a great sound!.
A sight i hadn't witnessed before was a Little Egret feeding at the same pool and it seemed a little strange seeing Whooper Swans and Little Egret together.
As i carried on and eventually made it to the River Ancholme,a single Buzzard,juv type Marsh Harrier and a very brief Kingfisher made for some nice sightings to keep me interested,but better was to come.
As i scanned the fields and bushes towards Appleby Carrs,first a Merlin was seen,no doubt the bird which had been flushing the Starlings & Fieldfares earlier,but i then turned around to see 10 Redhead Goosander go bombing past along the river,followed by another single.Eleven Goosander is the most i have seen along here and was a very welcome bonus and certainly made the trip out worthwhile.
As i wandered back towards the car again,4 Little Egret fished on the pools and overhead at least 150 Pink-footed Geese flew north along the valley towards the Humber.
More of the same was observed on the wet pastures and surrounding farmland and the only additions not mentioned before were 5 Roe Deer.
So another nice visit to this local area was enjoyed again today and i headed home contented at another great trip out.
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| Sunrise Over The Carrs. |
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| Rooks At Dawn,Leaving Their Roost. |
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| Carr Lane. |
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| A Slightly Muddy Juvenile Mute Swan. |
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| Adult Mute Swan. |
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| Part Of The 35 Strong Mute Flock. |
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| More Lovely Mute Swans. |
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| A Female Reed Bunting Trying To Hide. |
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| Some Great Grassland Habitat Here. |
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| The River Ancholme. |
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| Redhead Goosander At The River. |
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| The Noisy Pair Of Whooper Swans. |
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