Febshank

Unseasonably warmth. 12 whopping degrees C of it. Shame about the stiff breeze. But I digress, as usual.

My February visit was pretty successful. A couple of Redshank at Wansford were the highlight. Having failed to find a single one through 2016 this was both a surprise and a relief. Egrets are still seemingly everywhere but will likely depart in March.

18th - 19th February

Mute Swan - 14
Pink-footed Goose - 1
Greylag - 220; flocks of 160 at Wansford and 60 at Kelk
Canada Goose - 6
Wigeon - 160+
Gadwall - 2
Teal - 48
Mallard - 40+
Shoveler - 3 males at Wansford
Tufted Duck - 32
Red-legged Partridge - 4
Grey Partridge - 8
Little Grebe - 4
Cormorant - 5
Little Egret - at least 6, but possibly 8
Great White Egret - 1 still present
Grey Heron - 16
Sparrowhawk - 1
Buzzard - 30+ perhaps as many as 35 individuals!
Kestrel - 5
Golden Plover - 50 at Harpham
Lapwing - 140 in three flocks
Snipe - 3
Woodcock - 1
Redshank - 2 at Wansford
Green Sandpiper - 3
Kingfisher - 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 3
Meadow Pipit - 4
Grey Wagtail - 2
Fieldfare - 70 in two flocks
Redwing - 12
Mistle Thrush - 6
Coal Tit - 1
Treecreeper - 1
Jay - 1
Linnet - 56 in two flocks

And now, some photos...

A Buzzard on the deck. I don't see them standing around very often though it's by no means an unusual behaviour. The warm sunny weather encouraged our Buzzards to make territorial displays on Sunday when they seemed to be everywhere.

Greylag flock at Wansford. There's two 'farmyard' white birds among them.

You've always wondered how big a Little Egret is compared to a Common Gull, right? The answer is  'about the same size'.

The water table is low at the moment and virtually no fields have wet patches - this one at Millingdale being an exception to the rule. Clearly the drains must be blocked as the channel is in fine condition. A Green Sandpiper had flushed just before I took this photo.

Lone Pink-foot. Unusual to see them on the ground. They're usually such sociable birds I can't help thinking this chap must be either lost or poorly.

The rather high January total of 69 species meant there wasn't to be a dramatic rise this month, just six.

070 Treecreeper
071 Gadwall
072 Kingfisher
073 Redshank
074 Pink-footed Goose
075 Golden Plover