Great Grey Shrike has eluded me on several occasions recently and so one that had been faithful to an area of Cannock Chase seemed to be a good bet this morning. It was a stunning morning, bright sunshine but gale force winds were blowing across the cleared fell area and it was two & a half hours later before I managed to locate the bird squatting on the tip of a pine tree stump. The bird was far to distant for any photography but nevertheless a smart individual. There were also numerous Brambling in the area, feeding on the […]
A real dull and cold wintery morning at the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Willington Gravel Pits. Still I did get my expected year tick – Willow Tit – also one of the Bitterns showed well but very briefly. Otherwise 16 Shoveler; 4 Shelduck; 5 Goldeneye and a calling Water Rail were the highlights. At Albert Village Lake the day-time gull roost produced none of the local rare species. Year list now on 133. A few Black-headed Gull photos to follow –