The current high pressure sitting off to the east of the UK can offer gorgeous sunny days and crisp frosty morning. Unfortunately, at this time of the year it can also produce low persistent cloud and chilly winds as it rotates clockwise and sadly this was the case at Brandon Marsh Tuesday morning. With a cold north-easterly flow any hopes of early migrants dropping in were soon dispelled.
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| Nuthatch - Busy preparing a nesting site! |
However, a good trawl of the reserve away from the pools produced of note: (2)
Chiffchaff,
Treecreeper,
Goldcrest, several
Lesser Redpoll and a decent flock of
Redwing/Fieldfare near the farm area. It was also fascinating to stop for a while and watch a couple of
Nuthatch busy preparing a nesting site, which they plaster around the entrance, side and roof of the nest cavity with mud in an effort to reduce the hole size. At least two
Great-spotted Woodpecker were busy drumming away early morning and
Song Thrush were once again in good voice.
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
A couple of
Grey Wagtail were also seen around the Goose Pool area and I'm happy to say that around mid morning the sun did finally make an appearance, offering
Sparrowhawk,
Kestrel and several
Buzzards the opportunity to take to the air. Also of note in the more sheltered and warmer areas were
Comma and
Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, plus a couple of colonies of
Minor Bees, which nest in burrows underground. If the suns shining take a look around the steps near Baldwin Hide or under the large oak tree along the Central Marsh Path where they can clearly be observed!
