Despite the dreadful weather forecast, there was no way I was going to stay in on New Years Day, so wrapped up and water-proofed I made my way to the London Wetland Centre.
Most of the morning was spent in the Peacock Tower trying to see a Jack Snipe. I caught one brief glimpse of it moving behind some Common Snipe before it tucked itself away, and could then only be seen with the aid of a scope.
Plenty of Common Snipe around, at least five counted on just one small patch of scrub.
Lots of Tufted, Shoveler and Teals were dabbling or hunkered down in the reeds.
 |
| Tufted on the left, Teal on the right |
 |
| Common Snipe |
 |
| Shovelers |
A nice addition was a pair of Pintail. There was also a male Shelduck flitting between the main lake and the wader scrape, and a Water Rail was first heard, then briefly seen.
 |
| male and female Pintail |
 |
| male Pintail |
Lots of juvenile gulls were around, but despite extensive searching
there was no sign of any of the Bitterns.
After lunch the rain came down heavier, so we gave up and went home.
There's always next weekend. It was nice to see the regular crowd though, and Gina braved the atrocious weather to join me.
Happy New Year everyone.
Well done - none of my lot would go out today so looking at your pictures is fab! Happy New Year! Rach Cook
ReplyDelete