Brandon Marsh :: 17 February 2012

With one of the girls out with friends, we decided to pop up to Brandon Marsh to have lunch and a quick walk around the reserve. Not too cold and no wind helped make the conditions feel quite spring-like. The hot lunch helped with that too.

Despite the number of cars in the car park, the reserve was actually quite quiet, especially for a half-term Friday. Heaven in the hides and quite a few birds around. Perhaps the species count is rising due to the rising water - a significant change since we were last there. Amazingly we saw yet another pintail; that is three in as many days - have I just not been paying attention before?

Today's species count was 42 and included: coal tit, magpie, feral pigeon, great tit, blue tit, robin, black-headed gull, reed bunting, chaffinch, kestrel, woodpigeon, dunnock, carrion crow, great spotted woodpecker, blackbird, greenfinch, canada goose, mallard, tufted duck, cormorant, wren, green woodpecker, long tailed tit, mute swan, coot, shoveler, pochard, teal, lapwing, moorhen, lesser black-backed gull, common gull, greylag goose, pintail, wigeon, snipe, pheasant, goldeneye, heron, gadwall, shelduck and bullfinch.