Wednesday, 20 January 2016

20th January


A beautiful, frosty with not a cloud in the sky winters day (very rare so far this winter) produced a few bits and improved counts from a walk along the River Severn from Cressage Bridge to Ironbridge including the highlights of a wintering Common Sandpiper  (recorded over-wintering in four of the last ten winters), 14 Mandarin, an excellent total of 60 Goosanders (a new record for me for this stretch of river) and a pair of Peregrines on the top of one of the now defunct cooling towers at Ironbridge Power Station – the male was calling loudly having just brought in some prey which the female was eating.

                Other birds included a 1st winter Great Black-backed Gull at Buildwas with other Gulls, 12+ Teal, a decent flock of 34 Skylarks at Cressage Bridge and my first couple of drumming Great-spotted Woodpeckers of the year.
 
Mandarin


Goosander

Record shot of the wintering Common Sandpiper

Nuthatch

Peregrines on the Power Station

Quite a distinctive Buzzard
 

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