Recent sightings

Sorry for the lack of recent activity on the blog – I have had trouble accessing WordPress for some reason.

On the bird front recent highlights include the same birds as in previous postings – on Ibsley Water we still have two black necked grebe, ruddy duck, a long-tailed duck and the Frankins gull coming into roost. The starling murmuration is also well worth seeing: although not in the numbers of last year (currently estimated at c. 25,000 as opposed to c. 80,000!), the following photo’s, all taken by visitors, give a flavour of what you can hope to see on a good day!

Roy Cowley

Bob Taylor

Sue Lambert

Roy Cowley

Please be aware that Ed is leading a (fully booked!) guided event from Tern Hide on Friday afternoon and therefore the hide will be reserved for this group at this time (3.30-4.30pm). He has however strimmed off the plateau on the bank at the back of the main car park there, where visitors can still enjoy excellent (and on a reasonable day weather wise, actually better) views of the gull roost and starling murmuration if the hide is full or otherwise in use as on 28th November.

Other bird news includes the arrival of siskin (with flocks of 100-200 birds reeling around the alder and silver birch, though not yet coming down to the bird feeders) and sporadic sightings of bittern (generally in the reed bed fringing the southern shore of Ivy Lake, although there was a report yesterday of one flying from there in to the reeds to the left of Ivy South Hide. Either way it/they are not yet performing outside Ivy North Hide!). The great white egret is still frequenting Mockbeggar Lake, but dropping in behind the Ivy Lake reed bed to the left of Ivy South Hide from time to time. More unusual on Ivy Lake at the moment are a couple of golden eye (Ibsley Water winter residents, but not commonly seen elsewhere in the reserve).