The last birding morning of the winter term took us to Marbury Park with a lunch at the Bergamot and Spinner where we also had our planning session for the following term. When we first arrived at the car park it was a little damp but then it soon got much wetter. We hovered around for a bit before deciding that we would go to the new hide overlooking the mere; this was a replacement for the previous one that was vandalised to the point of destruction. We didn\u2019t expect too much on such a wet day, but we were to be very surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
By the covered meeting area I got my first Mistle Thrush of the year, which is peculiar because we normally see a pair in our garden each winter. This year we only had our pair of Grey Wagtails again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Down at the new, and enlarged, hide It didn\u2019t take too long before a Cetti\u2019s Warbler was showing in the branches overhanging the mere just in front of the hide; this was perhaps the most prolonged view of a Cetti\u2019s Warbler that any of us had ever had. This was followed by A Kingfisher perching around the same area and then a Reed Bunting showed in the same place and several Dunnocks were on the ground just in front of the hide along with Robins and a Blackbird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the trees behind the hide we saw a male Bullfinch, a Song Thrush and the first Chiffchaff of the year which is always a good sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the water there were the usual Tufted Ducks but great Crested Grebe numbers were less than usual. We also got a Goosander which came out of nowhere, showed itself for a little while in front of the hide, then disappeared just as quickly. Over to the right was another archetypal scene at the start of spring \u2013 a huge flock of Sand Martins \u2013 forming a dense cloud of activity just over the surface of the mere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was such a good range of birds, and all showing really well, that I decided to sit where I was, keeping dry, whilst the others walked around a bit. We didn\u2019t see anything new, but we got return visits of the Cetti\u2019s Warbler and the Kingfisher. It just goes to show that you never do know what you are going to see \u2013 in this case five year ticks of Goosander, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, Sand Martin and Mistle Thrush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| Species<\/th>\n | No<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|
| Black-headed Gull<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Blackbird<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Blue Tit<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Bullfinch<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Canada Goose<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Cetti's Warbler<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Chiffchaff<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Coot<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Dunnock<\/td>\n | 5<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Goosander<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Great Black-backed Gull<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Great Crested Grebe<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Great Tit<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Grey Heron<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Grey Wagtail<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Kingfisher<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Mallard<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Mistle Thrush<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Moorhen<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Mute Swan<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Reed Bunting<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Robin<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Sand Martin<\/td>\n | 200<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Shelduck<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Song Thrush<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Tufted Duck<\/td>\n | 10<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Woodpigeon<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n |
| Wren<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The last birding morning of the winter term took us to Marbury Park with a lunch at the Bergamot and Spinner where we also had our planning session for the following term. When we first arrived at the car park it was a little damp but then it soon got much wetter. We hovered around … <\/p>\n |