A Good Day Out

The White-billed Diver that turned up on the River Witham in Lincolnshire stirred my interest when it turned up just over a week ago.  With a clear day in my calendar and reasonable weather forecast, I teamed up with Dave Cleal to see the bird.  On the way up we encountered fairly thick fog which was a concern, but by the time we approached Kirkstead Bridge, it had gone.  The bird had ranged several miles up river, so we expected a long walk.  However the bird had moved southwards towards the bridge saving a lot of legwork!
We stayed with the bird for about an hour as it moved up and down the river, frequently diving and presumably catching fish.  Anything it caught it presumably ate before surfacing.  A few other birders were present with perhaps a maximum of 10.  No doubt a lot less than over the weekend.

A noisy jet fighter flew over and the Diver turned it's head to look up skywards.  It got noisier and it decided to dive!

A massive bill!

Peering into the water just before diving.

Checking us out

After leaving the Diver in peace we decided to head to Deeping High Bank (Lincolnshire) where a Great Grey Shrike had been reported that morning, along with four Short-eared Owls.

It took an hour or so to reach the site which consisted of a narrow road that runs along the bank of the river Welland.  After driving up and down much of the bank, we evenutually found the Shrike site.  Along the way we saw a Great White Egret, a flock of about 50 Swans which included about 30 Whoopers, two Scaup, three Goosander plus a lot of common ducks and Little Grebes.  A good haul!  We did however miss a Long-tailed Duck.

As we pulled in to park by the footbridge that crossed the Welland to where the Shrike was we flushed a Short-eared Owl from the side of the road.  An encouraging start.  We crossed the bridge and there in a field of tall grass and herbage and bushes was the Shrike.  It had apparently only just reappeared after being missing for most of the day.  As we watched the Shrike a Short-eared Owl was hunting around the same area and perched briefly to enable a few distant photos.  Finally as we drove away from the site two Barn Owls put in an appearance finishing off what was definately a good day out!

The light conditions in the afternoon was very poor and some of the birds were fairly distant, so below are a few record shots of what we saw.

Great Grey Shrike - Close to the River Welland at Deeping High Bank

Short-eared Owl

Whooper and Mute Swans - The Mutes are mainly the closer birds.

Whooper Swans with a juvenile Mute in the foreground.

Great White Egret - We just came across this bird as we drove along Deeping bank.

Goosander - A nice male photographed from the car.  We also saw two redheads.

Scaup - A juvenile male coming into adult plumage.  We encountered a female Scaup further down the river.

Barn Owl - OK a rubbish shot but it was from the car and getting dark!