It generally does not take long to count the waterfowl on Poppy Hill fishing lakes. There are usually only a few Mallards, a couple of Moorhens and a family of Mute Swans. Wigeon, Shoveler and Teal are occasional visitors, while Tufted Ducks are more regular. This morning the three male and one female Tufties were joined by a female Goldeneye, the first I have recorded on the patch and my second new duck inside a week - a male Goosander was seen flying west over the pits on 16th November.
The Goldeneye takes my patch list for 2015 to 115 species.
Great stuff again Roger. What do you think is overdue for you there and could be next?
ReplyDeleteI don't know that anything is overdue, the last three have all been unexpected. Your Cetti's wandering down the Ivel would be a good bet. The lakes do poorly for waterfowl, so any duck is a bit of surprise but the Broom geese often fly this way and could drag any ducks with them. Hen Harrier is a possibility, the land east of the railway especially looks similar to the raptor hotspot near Baldock. There is no real wader habitat, but Snipe are regular in the ditches, so there has to be a chance of Jack Snipe.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that is dreamtime with Wryneck, Hoopoe or (and?) Ring Ouzel on the horse paddocks!
Yeah, they all sound good for there but you'd best be careful, otherwise you could end up with all sorts of riff-raff (like me) turning up for a look around!
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