Tuesday 29 November 2011

Sightings 29.11.11


A very blustery day with dark clouds looming! The sound of the wind howling over the power cables created a spooky atmosphere. On the feeders in the car park were blue tit, great tit and a grey squirrel hanging on the nut feeder (again)! As I crossed the bridge over the canal I saw something dive into the water, I wondered if it was the goosander I was looking for the other day. I went for a closer luck but couldnt see anything, waited a minute and got a lovely surprise, a kingfisher flew straight past and landed on a tree branch not far away, as I was taking pictures it flew closer and landed on the tree opposite me! I was dumbfounded, stonking views! It proceeded to catch & eat a fish right infront of me, very obliging, I was totally in the open it must have seen me. Unfortunately the pictures didnt come out as well as i'd hoped due to the very dim light.

I headed on into the reserve not expecting to see much on such a terribly windy day (I was right!). Carrion crow & BH gulls were enjoying the strong winds up on the hillside. As I walked past tag cut some volunteers were carrying out some maintenance works to the paths, good on you! Shame I couldnt help, was on my lunch hour. I carried on around the boundary and came across a flock of 20+ long tailed tits, I dont think i've not seen one at CB since I started visiting! A few more blue & great tits as I headed back to the entrance before the heavens opened!

Not much in the way of variety but delighted with the Kingfisher. Here's hoping for more breathtaking moments on my next visit.

1 comment:

Cromwell Bottom Wildlife Group said...

Excellent report Andy and a good photo considering the conditions. I look forward to your next visit. I was not aware that the path at Tag was being repaired, hopefully there will be notices posted on the Blog regarding volunteers in future.