A Few Changes

With the sun out this morning and the forecast of rain this afternoon, it seemed silly not to take advantage of the dry conditions. It's only been a few days since I was last at Liden Lagoon, but its amazing how much can change in such a short time. The water level was almost back to its normal level, but the most significant change was the amount of fallen trees along the paths and banks.

Fallen Tree across the path

And another snapped off

The Lagoon was fairly quiet and it was noticeable that a few Canada Geese were starting to pair up. The numbers were almost the same as my last visit with 22 Birds recorded, but it was easier to count last time round, as they were all together.

Also on the water was a Great Crested Grebe in summer plumage. Two weeks ago there was a bird in winter attire, but when I revisited the Lagoon on 13 Feb it wasn't present. So is this the same bird returned after its moult. Who knows!. It was quite wary of my presence but was fairly close in to the bank as it hunted in the shallows. A really beautiful looking Grebe!

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

The Pochard still haven't departed yet and today there were 3 drakes. I'm guessing it won't be long before they do though. Also present were 11 Tufted Duck. There were 3 pairs, 3 males with a female and a lone male. A week ago there were only 5 birds!

Drake Pochard

Female Tufted Duck

Drake Tufted Duck

Female Tufted Duck

A pair of Tufted Duck

Something else that was quiet noticeable was the reduced numbers of Moorhen,with only 8 birds recorded. There were a few Coot and Mallard, but all in all the Lagoon was fairly quite until a about 8 Herring Gulls arrived for a bathe. They are noisy.

Herring Gull

In the hedgerows around the Lagoon there were a few Dunnocks and Robins singing. A pair of Siskins was a pleasant surprise as I haven't heard any here for a good couple of months. In the Alders there were a few Goldfinches, but certainly not as many as on previous visits here.

A lot of birds are now pairing up and no more so than the Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits. Male Chaffinches are singing just about everywhere and the early signs of Spring are just beginning to show.

Blue Tit preening

Female Chaffinch

And as I left I took one final photograph of the sun over the water. Not something we've seen of late.

Lovely Sun

Also noted were Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Sparrowhawk, 1 Black-headed Gull, Wood Pigeon, a pair of Collared Doves, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Wren, a lone Rook, House Sparrow and a pair of Greenfinch.