A Few Siskins

So far this winter Siskins have been rather few and far between.  However with the sudden cold snap there seems to have a been an increase in numbers with about 30 feeding in Alders along the N bank of the lake at Little Marlow.  Picked up by their calls, it would have been quite easy to have walked right under them and not noticed them.

Not too much of note on this visit but plenty of wildfowl and a good number (30-40) to be seen.

Male Siskin

Female Siskin in Alders

Dusky Thrush Twitch

When Graham Smith contacted me ask if I fancied a trip to Beeley in Derbyshire to see the recently discovered Dusky Thrush, I thought why not.  So Graham, Martin Dear and myself set off early morning.  We arrived about 10am to find dozens of birders present with many saying they had seen the bird during the morning.  Encouraging!  It was not long before I had a glimpse of the bird as it landed in a tree but it did not say long but went to feed in the orchard, which I could not quite see from where I was.  A little later we moved to the orchard area and managed views of the bird as it fed on the ground, but it was only partly visible from where I was. A little later we moved to a better viewpoint for the orchard, waited there an hour or so but the bird did not appear.  Then we got word that the bird had been found in bushes on the edge of a field near the village, so we relocated there.

About two hundred birders were present and everyone focused on the bird as it sat in the bush for about ten minutes.  Then the bird took off and flew fairly high across the village.

We had seen the bird really well, albeit somewhat further away than at the orchard,so we decided to head home.

The species breeds in open woodland and forests in central and eastern Siberia.  So rather rare in the UK !

Dusky Thrush 

Birders dispersing after the Thrush flew off.

Brent Goose at LMGP

I had already seen the Brent Goose a couple of times during it's six day stay (so far). However the views were distant and the photos very poor.  After seeing that the bird was again frequenting the arable field just to the north of the lake, I thought it worth a go at getting a better view.  When I arrived I could not see the Goose with the naked eye and even with binoculars is was not that easy to see as it was right down the far (NE) end of the field.  Walking along the footpath I reduced the distance considerably and manged the photos below.

Brent Goose

Continuing on I walked down the E side of the lake checking on the wildfowl but not finding anything out of the ordinary.  Then as I walked under the "Sisken trees" (none present) I heard the distinctive call of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!  With very few records in recent years at this site I was certainly surprised.  It called again a minute or two later but I could not really pinpoint were it was. I walked into the field to the east of the lake and scanned the trees along the lake and in the car park in Coldmoorholm Lane.  Unfortunately there was no sign and as the light was fading I had to move on.

Fox - Looking for a meal on the back of the sand spit. 

Jackdaws - A small portion of the Jackdaws gathering before going to roost. 

Fieldfare - One of about 50 seen around the Brent Goose field.

The Gull roost turned up a 1st winter Caspian Gull again, plus a Great Black-backed Gull, plus the usual species.  Three colour rings birds were seen  Black-headed Gulls "White AJ66" and "White 507",plus Common Gull "Red AW22".
29 Snipe were feeding on the sand spit which is the most I have seen for a long time.