SUNDAY 10 JANUARY
Much lying snow still around, with many side roads still in an atrocious condition and quite challenging. The threat of heavy snow never materialised and in fact temperatures climbed to 2 degrees for much of the day, heralding a slight thaw. The easterly wind moderated during the day.
It was a tour of many local water bodies today, with the highlight being a total of 60 RED-CRESTED POCHARDS seen.
THE STOCKER'S LAKE COMPLEX (HERTS)
Really, just two patches of ice-free water, with one on Bury Lake and another on Stockers Lake out from the Kingfisher Hide. Bury Lake surprisingly held all of the 'goodies' including 3 beautiful SMEW (2 adult drakes and an adult female) and a flock of 14 RED-CRESTED POCHARDS (7 pairs).
Bury Lake also held 3 Great Crested Grebe, 36 Mute Swans (4 first-winters), 35 Gadwall, 46 Tufted Duck, 42 Northern Pochard and 6 Common Goldeneye.
Stockers Lake held 4 Great Crested Grebes, 17 Mute Swans, 8 Eurasian Wigeon, 132 Northern Shoveler, 190 Tufted Duck, 18 Pochard and a single RUDDY DUCK - the latter my first of the year (114). Coot numbers totalled 403.
A COMMON KINGFISHER was fishing in the river, with 15 House Sparrows in and around Stockers Farm, with the wooded areas supporting 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, Jay, Common Kestrel, Common Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Long-tailed Tit.
A flock of about 30 SISKINS in the Alders at the beginning of the causeway eluded me.
Much lying snow still around, with many side roads still in an atrocious condition and quite challenging. The threat of heavy snow never materialised and in fact temperatures climbed to 2 degrees for much of the day, heralding a slight thaw. The easterly wind moderated during the day.
It was a tour of many local water bodies today, with the highlight being a total of 60 RED-CRESTED POCHARDS seen.
THE STOCKER'S LAKE COMPLEX (HERTS)
Really, just two patches of ice-free water, with one on Bury Lake and another on Stockers Lake out from the Kingfisher Hide. Bury Lake surprisingly held all of the 'goodies' including 3 beautiful SMEW (2 adult drakes and an adult female) and a flock of 14 RED-CRESTED POCHARDS (7 pairs).
Bury Lake also held 3 Great Crested Grebe, 36 Mute Swans (4 first-winters), 35 Gadwall, 46 Tufted Duck, 42 Northern Pochard and 6 Common Goldeneye.
Stockers Lake held 4 Great Crested Grebes, 17 Mute Swans, 8 Eurasian Wigeon, 132 Northern Shoveler, 190 Tufted Duck, 18 Pochard and a single RUDDY DUCK - the latter my first of the year (114). Coot numbers totalled 403.
A COMMON KINGFISHER was fishing in the river, with 15 House Sparrows in and around Stockers Farm, with the wooded areas supporting 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, Jay, Common Kestrel, Common Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Long-tailed Tit.
A flock of about 30 SISKINS in the Alders at the beginning of the causeway eluded me.
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