Trip reports

Coach trip to Potteric Carr

Sunday, 21 February 2010

Overnight snow and picture postcard winter landscapes set the scene for our trip to Potteric Carr, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Headquarters Reserve just to the south of Doncaster. Falling snow soon broke to give brighter skies and some brief sunny spells. A flock of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll in alder tops were among the first finds. Glimpses of one Stoat in 'ermine' and another seen to dispatch a rabbit in the wintry conditions brought some of the harsher reality of nature into focus. Iced over pools limited the number of wildfowl and waders though a good range of regular species were present. Kingfisher and Bitterns, a speciality of the reserve, provided highlights with some excellent views of the normally secretive Bitterns walking or flying across frozen water and the reedbeds. Water rail and both female and male Brambling were among concentrations of birds around the feeding stations. The superbly plumaged male Brambling only appeared on the day of our visit and capped a successful day in the South Yorkshire February snow