Great visit to Plantsbrook Nature Reserve where it was quite evident Winter's on its way out and Spring's on its way, what with the bushes and flowers and pond life all starting to emerge back into life and even though I didn't see any evidence of the water fowl nest building I did observe Great Crested Grebe doing the 'courtship dance' and Wren, Blackbird and Blue Tit among others collecting nesting material.
Highlight of the day was an easy one today, not very often you see a mixed flock of c.50 Siskin and Lesser Redpoll, they looked truly magnificent with the backdrop of the clear blue skies, also worth noting was how noisy they were, a treat to see and hear any time you're lucky enough to do so.
As I always say, seeing any bird is a treat, so it was also great to see a very charismatic pair of Domestic Duck, a Nuthatch who actually was coincidentally seen 'among' the mixed Siskin and Lesser Redpoll flock, a rather resplendent looking Mistle Thrush who was catching the light from the sun perfectly, Parakeets who are definitely always noisy, Shoveler who always great to see even if they do always keep their distance and last but not least, Cormorants who always look great drying off their wings.
Birds seen today were, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Nuthatch, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Starling, Parakeet, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Domestic Duck and Canada Goose.
I must also thank the 'Friends of Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve' who look after the park as it was basically litter free and is clearly looked after well!
