My
first shot for today's blog post shows a tree of pigeons and a lake
of swans. It is in fact Swanbourne Lake, where Liz and I trekked
after Arundel WWT and before the River Arun. Our next excursion, on
the second weekend in February, took us to Warnham Nature Reserve -
you might need a close up to see the cormorants properly though - we had bins.
Most
of our time spent at Warnham was spent in one specific hide - where
they had 3-4 feeder bars, a tree with something stuck behind it, and
piles of food on the floor. This was like the buffet bar in an elite
hotel and attracted all the best species to dine. It was in this hide
that I spotted 4 birds which I had not seen before - 3 clearly and 1
as a passing flash identified by another birder on site.
Firstly,
here is a female pheasant tucking in to brunch, with blue tit and
siskin on the feeders. Siskins are relatively common in some parts of
the UK, being one of those birds you know about beyond the basics of
blackbird, starling, sparrow, robin, seagull, etc, if you are going
to take up an interest in birding. However, they have not yet
visited my gardens, and this was my first sighting.
It
was not the first sighting of a female pheasant, but I still took a
couple of shots, as it was close enough to get in detail. In my next
picture, we see a great tit, nuthatch, and trio of goldfinches
tucking in. Liz and I agreed that it was the best hide to visit to
spot and observe small birds.
My
final shot for today shows the siskin again - this time sharing the
cafe with a pair of goldfinches.
I love the tree of pigeons in the lake of swans.
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