The garden birds have started to visit in large numbers every day, and are emptying the feeders and clearing the bird table of food at a frantic rate.
We had a visit from a Ring Necked or Rose Ringed Parakeet.. They had been reported in the village but this is the first time we have had one visit. She stayed all day, backwards and forwards clearing out the peanut feeder, and then she went and we have not seen her since.
The Ring-necked Parakeet was accepted onto the British List in 1983. It has long been a popular cage-bird and the British breeding population, currently estimated at around 12,000 pairs, is the result of birds escaping from captivity over a long period of time. The birds breeding here in Britain constitute the most northerly breeding parrots in the world. From the BTO website.
The Great spotted Woodpecker started visiting the garden at the beginning of the month and has been a regular visiter everyday.
A Trip to Burwell and Wicken Fen was very quiet, but we did see this this Muntjac who was not camera shy at all.
Eldernell was the next place to visit on our winter list. The Tawny owl was in his usual hole sunbathing in the sun. A very safe place across the other side of the river in the middle of woodland. You need to know where to look to see him. Definitely a wise old owl. The Long Eared Owls were there somewhere as they had been seen on previous days, but the hedges still had a lot of leaves and the Owls proved impossible for us to find.
Winter Thrushes were arriving in large numbers, and we saw hundreds of Fieldfare and Redwing but again they proved difficult to photograph. They were very skittish after flying hundreds of miles and not being totally sure of their surroundings. We did manage a quick picture of a Fieldfare before it flew off to be with the rest of the flock.
A lovely Song Thrush near the car park, feasting on the Hawthorn berries before all the Fieldfares found them.
A pair of Stonechats were sitting out enjoying the sunshine.
Fenland farmers leave stubble and the tops of the sugar beet for the visiting Whooper and Bewick Swans to feed. The field was a white noisy mass of mostly, Whooper Swans.
It was a very cold day the day we visited the Suffolk coast. A Hoopoe had been seen in the dunes near RSPB Mindsmere. Lots of lovely pictures were showing online taken by other birders over several days, and we were hopeful of finding him. We parked at Dunwich Heath and walked along the beach. And just our luck, he had ben seen about a half hour before we arrived and had flown off towards Sizewell, never to be seen again.
It stayed cold all day. The ice did not thaw on the scrapes at Mindsmere and flocks of ducks were huddled out on the ice with their heads under their wings.
A Gargany Duck slip sliding its way towards one of the islands
A bemused pair of Mallard wondering what to do next.
Another quiet day at Summer Leys in Northamptonshire. We usually see a good number of Bullfinches here at the feeding station but unusually there was no sign this time.
We did find this Little Grebe having a very successful fishing trip.
A great bonus was spotting a Water Rail. Water Rail are shy birds and not seen very often. They like hiding in the reedbeds at the side of fresh water lakes and are related to the Moorhen.
It was a beautiful sunny day the day we went to Norfolk to see the new born grey seals at Horsey Gap and Winterton. A lot of the pups were only a few hours old. Feeding on their mothers’ milk, which contains around 50% fat and 12% protein, the pups gain around 10kg a week. They wean about 3 weeks old and are then expected to fend for themselves.
Covered in a silky fur these new born pups were so lovely.
The beach is roped off and closed to the public for the winter months while the pups are being born. But you can still get views fro the dunes.
As soon as the pups are weaned the females are ready to mate again. They then leave the beach and the pups are forced to learn to hunt for themselves or starve. Its a hard life.
Grey seals gathering to give birth on the beach at Winterton. These gatherings of grey seals are called rookeries.
Whooper Swans coming into land on the flooded wetlands at Welney. There were lots of birds here this time, and we finally saw our first Short Eared Owls of the winter, a long way off, but at least we know they have arrived.
There are always lots of Male Pochards at the reserve in the winter.
The light was almost too bright for photographing, making it difficult to adjust for the very white plumage on the swans
As well as being a bright day it was also very still making some great reflections in the water.
You always get a good mug of tea in the visitor centre, and good views across the fens in the comfort of the cafe.
We are still continuing with our “View as We Go” gallery, posting pictures from our days out during the month so don’t forget to keep checking. Some months there will be lots of pictures, others not so many. We will just have to remember to keep it updated.