Nethergong Birding

I spent a few hours at Nethergong Christmas Eve where after having a wander around the site for an hour, I spent a couple of hours sat in the hide at the feeding station. The weather was pretty dull with mostly cloudy skies but I thought I might get a few photographic opportunities with a few species. After topping up the logs with peanuts and seed, it wasn't long until the first Great spotted Woodpecker arrived allowing me to capture a few shots. Having drilled a few more holes and filled them with peanuts, I decided that this session would be trying to get some shots of the Woodpeckers and hopefully they would be tempted by a few carefully places peanuts. For the next hour, a male and female Great spotted Woodpecker took it in turns to pop down where on a few occasions, they perched nicely allowing some nicely framed photos. The usual suspects were also in attendance and also seen from the hide was a Common Buzzard which flew through low and landed near the lake, 4 Moorhen popped out on the grass to feed and 2 Water Rail were heard. A Cetti's Warbler was seen on the edge of the reeds and Fieldfare and Redwing could be heard as well as a Bullfinch passing over. Despite the cloudy skies, I actually left with some nice photos. I think we will need a good cold spell to tempt in a few other species but hopefully another session soon to see what's about. It's probably only a matter of time before a Jay appears again and with all the small species visiting, A Sparrowhawk may not be out of the question. 

Great spotted Woodpecker - male

Great spotted Woodpecker - female

Great spotted Woodpecker - male