randombirder

A final visit of the year to Broom that started off well with plenty of movement overhead. The plan was to spend a little longer here today to check the waterbodies for winter wildfowl.  It was a lovely morning, not too cold, and with high cloud pierced by the low winter sun. The Goosander from yesterday had disappeared so we were back to normal for wildfowl counts albeit with the usual fluctuations in numbers.  Across the lakes  68 Wigeon , 13 Shoveler , 14 Gadwall , 13 Teal , 13 Tufted Duck , 10 Great Crested Grebe , and a single Pochard represented reasonable mid-winter numbers.  A total of 157 Coot  were present on the main lake.  112 Black headed Gull , 33 Common Gull, and 2 brief adult  Herring Gull were congregated on GLE. A Peregrine shot through over GLE sending everything skyward before disappearing off to the east. The real surprise came in the form of an adult winter Little Gull  that was associating with the Black headed Gull  on the main lake. It didn

A while since I'd visited Broom that was rewarded with a surprise drake   Goosander that drifted along the length of GLE. Other than the sawbill, it was pretty routine with counts of 48 Wigeon , 13 Gadwall , eight Teal. Overhead, a paltry seven Lapwing moved through with a decent number of Fieldfare commuting over the pits.

Sadly no photos of the Black-throated Thrush but grateful that I got to see it as unfortunately it failed to reappear after around midday.  Feeding on a cotoneaster bush with Redwing , Blackbird and a single Fieldfare , the contrast of its black neck and white underparts made it a surprisingly striking bird. A strange setting for a new species but it made for a good day roaming around the enclosures and the warm and humid biomes of the Butterfly House. Lunch at the River Cottage Kitchen is highly recommended providing lovely views over the Chilterns.