Trip reports

Mansfield Group's Trip to Old Moor on 9th December 2007

Saturday, 15 December 2007

Another memorable outing by the group. 43 made the journey and most of us, if not all, saw the bird of the year not once, but twice and possibly three times! This being one of our smallest birds, the Firecrest - my first for many years. Waders present were Lapwing, Golden Plover, Green Sandpiper, Redshank, Dunlin and Snipe. Ducks observed were Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck and Goosander. The scare of the day was a Dunlin being pursued by a Sparrowhawk at great speed - luckily the smaller bird won! There were many finches around - Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet and Bullfinch. Some of the male Bullfinches looked superb. Two of our smallest finches were also present - the Siskin and Redpoll. While at Old Moor, most of the group used the Gannet's Restaurant for a full Christmas Dinner or Carvery which went down well - sorry for the pun!