New Year’s Day saw the usual good numbers of visitors out to start their bird list for the year. The day started well, and there were a good range of species to be seen. All the usual ducks were on show, including 6 pintail on Iblsey Water. Around the shore of the lake there were several raven and right below the Tern hide the water pipit was picking along the shore, giving some of the best views I have had of this species.
On Ivy Lake “Walter”, our regular great white egret was on show, but the bittern failed to make an appearance. Other species there included water rail and Cetti’s warbler at Ivy North hide.
The Woodland hide was alive with birds, 50 or more chaffinch were joined by at least one brambling and there were also greenfinch, siskin, goldfinch and a lesser redpoll.
Unfortunately the weather let us down later in the day, with rain, accompanied by a cold NNE wind sending most people home before it got dark and certainly curtailed any real efforts to look through the gull roost.
The Pop up Café proved popular once again and will return later this month if you missed it.
We also recorded our first moth of the year, a mottled umber. It was a male, as most moths in the trap are. Male moths fly about more than females as the try to seek out a mate and so are more likely to fly near to the light. Mottled umber females do not fly at all an dare more or less wingless, so the males have to seek them out as they sit on tree trunks waiting.
mottled umber
Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve 
Missed the Water Rail again!…and Jim’s Otter ha ha. There was a solitary Pochard on the far side of Lapwing Hide and a pair of Reed Bunting at the Woodland hide fyi. (oh, and my Bullfinch!).