Brandon Marsh this Morning

Green Winged Teal in company of Eurasian Teal

I wasn't too bothered about seeing the Green Winged Teal at Brandon until I realised that this would be my first bird in three years! So off I went, arriving at first light and heading straight for the River Pool Hide. It was not to be the best of days - damp, dark, depressing, dismal, dreary, drizzly and dull! However, the Green Winged Teal was showing, not very well though, as it lurked on the far bank, before moving out into the open water. A "difficult" day for photography is a bit of an understatement! However, to coin a phrase from my mate Max S, a good day for "crappographs! I apologise for what I have placed in this blog entry, images that can't really be raised to the level of a "record shot"!

Other birds of note were Water Rail, a Yellow Legged Gull on East Marsh, two Oystercatchers, six Shelduck, nine Common Snipe and the feral Barnacle Goose.

You're probably bored to tears by now - but here are my "record crappographs"!

Green Winged Teal

Shelduck

Shoveller

Water Rail

Gadwall & Black Headed Gull

Feral Barnacle Goose

Robin

Todays Sightings:

Coot; Blackbird; Canada Goose; Teal; Shelduck; Shoveler; Gadwall; Green Winged Teal; Black Headed Gull; Carrion Crow; Mallard; Water Rail; Wood Pigeon; Grey Heron; Fieldfare; Tufted Duck; Green Woodpecker; Greylag Goose; Wren; Magpie; Mute Swan; Kestrel; Stock Dove; Oystercatcher; Great Crested Grebe; Cormorant; Barnacle Goose; Herring Gull; Moorhen; Lapwing; Song Thrush; Robin; Chaffinch; Common Snipe; Yellow Legged Gull; Great Tit; Dunnock; Blue Tit; Goldfinch; Greenfinch; Reed Bunting.

Warwickshire Waxwings

I had already placed Waxwing on my 2013 list, but who can resist a Warwickshire Waxwing? So a quick trip over to Rowan Drive in Warwick, soon had me onto six birds in the berry bush, just off the busy Coventry Road. A few images as I got my camera set up on its tripod and all was set for some good views. However, gormless Gordon appears on the scene! Driving out of Nelson Lane onto Coventry Road (A429) he comes, hardly able to see over the dashboard, peaked cap in place over the white hair, he looked like he was 120years old! Sitting alongside was hapless Harriet, of equal age and a facial expression not dissimilar to a dogs bum! CRASH! Gormless Gordon has just driven through the road closed sign and bollards! Not bothering to stop, he was off towards the hospital and i'm sure he had no idea of what he had just done! Of course the Waxwings were also off, now numbering ten birds, and did not return when I left, frozen, an hour later!

A pleasant morning at Marsh Lane Reserve!

Spot the Bittern?

A very pleasant few hours spent at Marsh Lane this morning, on what turned out to be a sunny, frosty and cold morning. I have written about the Snipe in a previous post to this, so I will concentrate on the "other" bird species! The Bittern was spotted in the reeds, south of the causeway but remained well hidden most of the time. However, for a brief ten seconds, it showed well enough to get some record images!

Bittern

Other notable birds were three Oystercatchers, two Shelduck, brief views of a Water Rail and a redhead Goosander.

Teal

Oystercatcher

Shelduck

Goosander

And finally, on my way home, this Buzzard

Todays Sightings:

Robin; Wood Pigeon; Carrion Crow; Cormorant; Song Thrush; Canada Goose; Black Headed Gull; Jackdaw; LBB Gull; Grey Heron; Oystercatcher (3); Coot; Lapwing; Pochard; Shelduck (2); Teal; Tufted duck; Wigeon; Mallard; Great Crested Grebe; Magpie; Blackbird; Gadwall; Reed Bunting; Mute Swan; Moorhen; Great Tit; Tree Sparrow; Chaffinch; Blue Tit; Common Snipe (c50+); Pheasant; Rook; Water Rail (1); Skylark; Green Woodpecker; Wren; Bittern(1); Buzzard; Greylag Goose; Goosander (1f); Yellowhammer; Long Tailed Tit; Starling; House Sparrow; Kestrel.

Don't "Snipe" at Marsh Lane!

It's an "upside down world"!

An early morning to one of my favourite reserves - Marsh Lane, in the hope of spotting a Jack Snipe. Arriving just after 0730hrs and sitting freezing my "bits" off in Oak Hide for three hours, it was not to be! However, at least 50 Common Snipe were in the marsh area, providing up close entertainment of this delightful wading bird.

Common Snipe