BIRD NEWS:362

From this picture regular readers might not guess where my next excursion was taken too, as I rarely take a shot so close to the entrance/exit as this double-feeder when visiting WWT Arundel. There were two tits feeding as I walked out into the reserve, and the weather being iffy, I figured it best to get a picture or two as soon as I could.

I was definitely limited by rainfall as to the number of photos I could take on this trip - but I still managed a few new and different as well as old familiar 'freinds'. This duck came right up to me, staring up at me as if my head might be a piece of food, so I just had to take a couple of photos before moving along, so as to identify it later on.

It decided that I was not food, or that I did not have any to give to it, and reluctantly it seemed allowed me to wander off, while still watching me as if in hope. I wandered into another hide and found a group of resting or nesting birds -

- yet again, I took a shot to bring home to identify the birds later on - as they were too far off to see if they were lapwings, blackheaded gulls, or geese... 2 greylag geese and a mallard star in my next picture - I took it a fraction too late, as I wanted to get the mallard with bum sticking out the water, but it resurfaced before I took the shot.

YES, I found the Bewick swans! Here they were, along with cygnets, in the area that they had formerly dwelt in before being moved to nest/hatch. There appear to be 2 young wandering about with the parents - which I hope to confirm on my next visit.

That was that - I did observe a few more birds that I would have liked to have taken a photo of on my trip - but alas, by the time I arrived it was on and off raining, and by the time I reached the Scrape hide, it did not stop til I left to go home.

I will just say that although on this occasion I found the Bewick swans that I lost on my last excursion, on this trip I lost the Trumpeters... They seemed to have vanished from their usual lake and island area. There was a sort of fencing netting erection, and I am hoping they have a new nest beyond that from which to emerge - we shall see.

Here is an article with some information about falconers at airports, for those unaware of the fact falcons are used at airports.