Torrential rain with strong winds have been battering the neighborhood over the last few days and it was reminiscent of my days at Laguna Blanca where the only thing to do was to batten down the hatches and let the storm pass!
The upside to this is the water meadows are beginning to live up to their name with the River Piddle re-gaining decent levels and the purpose built pools filling up with water! It won’t be long now before the meadows are alive with wildfowl!
There was a small sign of things to come today with Teal, Lapwing and Wigeon all present around the pools.
After an early start at the water meadows I moved up to the farm spending the rest of the morning at Waterbarn Cottages. The skies were dark and rain threatened every minute that passed.
The most significant movement of the day was Fieldfare which flew SW in untidy flocks ranging from a dozen to over one hundred birds. There were fortunately a few stragglers that were within camera range. 613 birds was the final count in a steady flow of birds between 1100 and 1220hrs.
This is the first real passage of this species I have seen in the area. The fields in winter hold smaller flocks but it was great to witness this mini spectacle! I just hope to see a few over my house!
A couple of Shoveler passed over N along with two groups of Wigeon.
The second group looking to put down circling the River Piddle valley before departing!
An Egyptian was the only goose of the day. I regularly see and hear geese over my house first thing but recently they are flying away from the water meadows likely to nearby fields to feed.
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