Yeah yeah yeah, a very merry Christmas to all ..... I'm looking forward to the social but have to say everything else is just way way OTT for me!
Here's another celebration and one which gladdens my heart no end ... as of today we get more daylight hours, hurragh! 'Bout time too and if more needs to be said then nature itself spoke today with glorious sunlight and 1 extra minute of it!
I was out and about in the
Lower Derwent Valley (LDV) to soak it all up along with approximately 4000
Wigeon, lots more ducks, 50 or so
Whooper Swans a hoopin and a passing
Peregrine a preyin!
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| LDV flood plains at Ellerton |
The 2 villages of
Ellerton and
Aughton and their respective churches are 2 of the best spots for viewing the flood plains of the LDV
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| LDV flood plains at Ellerton |
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| Whooper Swans, LDV, 23/12/15 |
The
Whoopers were distant but present and correct and in their usual haunts, no
Berwick's Swans ..maybe they'll come in the next cold snap (if we even have one!). Here's an opportunistic long distant shot that more or less came out ok.
At some point some local shooting put up just about every wild duck and goose in the entire place (the Whoopers couldn't be bothered ...shame 'cos you can't beat a good wild swan in flight shot!).
2nd prize ... a great
Wigeon 3some!
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| Wigeon, LDV, 23/12/15 |
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| Golden Plover, LDV, 23/12/15 |
A single
Barnacle Goose in amongst the
Greylags was noteworthy, as was a count of 75
Shelduck on the river bank at Ellerton. In amongst the many
Lapwings (c1500) there were some sizeable groups of
Dunlin (I reckoned c70 in total), a possible
Ruff and about 100
Golden Plover - good to see but numbers are way down from the flocks of 2000+ I remember a couple of decades ago.
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| Golden Plover, LDV, 23/12/15 |
I was half expecting it with all those birds up in the air but wasn't quite ready for a swift and close
Peregrine fly by ... it was a big 'un!
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| Peregrine Falcon, LDV, 23/12/15 |
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| Peregrine Falcon, LDV, 23/12/15 |
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| Common Kestrel, LDV, 23/12/15 |
Compared to that big docker above this
Kestrel seems dwarfed but for the 30 minutes or so I spent at Aughton church watching the comings and goings, this little thing remained in situ perched .. waiting for a meal to appear from below
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| Common Kestrel, LDV, 23/12/15 |
He won't be interested in Turkey or mince pies but lets hope he nabs an extra vole or 2 on Christmas Day because he sure wasn't having much luck today!
