Summary : February 2014
Garden
A very quiet month in the garden. Lots of rain although not as much as the record-breaking flooding in the south of England ! This is going to damage a large number of nature reserves in Somerset at Devon and other areas afflicted by the flooding.
Birding Days Out
On the 2nd of February We went, again, to Parkgate for a high tide and again we had good views of Merlin, Short-eared Owls, Peregrine Falcon, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel.
The first birding group outing of the month was to RSPB Conwy where we had good views of Red Breasted Merganser and Scaup. We had planned on going to Llanddulas after Conwy but I suggested a change and that we should go to Pensarn instead, mainly because of the elevated view you get over the water. We were not disappointed on the sea-watching front as we good views of Red-throated Divers and rather more distant views of a very large number of Common Scoter. A special highlight was the spotting of at least one Surf Scoter amongst them which was a life tick for me and, indeed, for most of the group.
We missed the next birding group outing but they did see Lesser-spotted Woodpecker.
On the 18th February the group went to Marbury Park on a lovely sunny day with birds singing loudly including many Song Thrushes. We got views of a Kingfisher from the reedbed hide and we also saw a good variety of the usual birds but in good numbers and all starting to look rather smart.
On the 24th we went to Carsington Water which was a first for me. Another first for me was the great views of a Great Northern Diver – well worth the very long drive to get there.