Sunday 11 December 2016

I was out of the house this morning at 6.15am where a few minutes later, I pulled up and parked outside of Nethergong by the bridge. I sat in the car and listened into the darkness for a while where I could hear Greylag Geese leaving the Stour Valley, c5 Snipe called as they flew over, 1 Woodcock zoomed by the car into the darkness, Mallard called as they flew out from the lake and the odd Blackbird and Robin could be heard. As the light picked up, I parked up in Nethergong and spent a few hours walking around the site trying to see what species were on offer. I started off at the eastern gate in the hope a few Egrets would fly by and maybe the Cattle Egret following but despite seeing 3 Little Egret, they had no anticipated follower. Later in the morning I popped up the road to Marshside where I saw the Cattle Egret still in its favored field.

Cattle Egret (Marshside)

Maybe it might make the short jump south this week at some point! Birds noted today included 53 species which included 2 Grey Heron, a few Redwing, 1 Common Buzzard, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 4 Fieldfare, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Reed Bunting, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Water Rail, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Pheasant, 2 Meadow Pipit, 2 Stonechat, c700 Starling flew south at dawn, 1 Bullfinch, c400 Cormorant, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Mistle Thrush still in song, 4 Yellowhammer, 9 Stock Dove, 6 Golden Plover, 1 Kestrel, c300 Lapwing, 1 Siskin and 1 Jay. With another week until my next visit, I hope the Cattle Egret finally flies a little south and enjoys the lush fields that Nethergong has to offer. As for any new species, we really need a good cold spell to push a few bonus birds this way. 

Robin

2 comments:

  1. Wow, the Cattle Egret, lovely bird. And the Robin, so beautiful.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Bob. Just hope it flies to Nethergong fields (about 1 minute of flying) by next weekend.

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