I took the short
trip to Beddington Farm with the previous days storm in my mind! Perhaps
something had been forced down by the high wind and rain. It was fairly fresh
out with a SW to W blow which had me seeking refuge in the hide. My corner was definitely
out of bounds today!
I set up and started
scanning the North Lake which was littered with gulls. The ducks that were
present had been pushed into the margins, which is common when the landfill is
operational. I spied a couple of male Pintail along the eastern edge of the
lake.
The gulls became
restless as a bird with a streamer flew over the lake forcing groups to head
for the skies until the apparent danger had passed. The Pintail took a while
but joined the semi chaos above the water circling round rejoining the lake
where they had left it. Both birds relocated to Elans Island later on in the
morning.
Pheasants became
very rare at the Farm until recently with three female and two males present on
a daily basis. They have found the hidden feeders and clear up any of the mess
the other birds leave behind. They will obviously be lying low for a few days
until the festivities are over!
After a catch up
with Glenn, Tank and Swift I popped into the adjacent Park to see a very tame
but amazing colourful male Mandarin who seems to be in residence on the lake.
It has claimed a small rock under a willow and does not take kindly to anything
else that moves into its territory. It has popped in at the Farm but only
briefly.
I hope that you all
have a fantastic Christmas and maybe there will be a fall of birds before the
New Year. But the weather is looking mild which may end my chances of Geese at
the Farm...
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