Trip reports
A touch of frost.
Geese on ice- Barry Proffitt
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Unfortunately most of the waterfowl were standing on the water rather than swimming or wading- it was frozen solid with few open patches. We realised that it was going to be a tricky day. A Common Gull in amongst the Coots and Black Headed Gulls was a good pick. It was not long before the word came round that the Ring Necked Duck had disappeared, presumably to somewhere it didn't need skates. Undaunted we marched on. Spirits were soon lifted by the truly glorious site of a pair of Bullfinches, the male glowing in the bright Winter sun. Small flocks of Redwing in the hedgerows seemed to rarely settle for more than a moment. In the many alders and silver birches Blue Tits and Great Tits did their acrobatics as they searched for a tasty morsel. The haunting sound of several Robins trilling from the frosted branches seemed to fit the crispness of the day. Along one of the quieter tracks Treecreeper and Goldcrest performed for a select few watchers. Flocks of Long Tailed Tits flitted through the scrub, raising hopes that something less common may be with them; alas it was not to be.
As the day developed, so news of the whereabouts of the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers became more inconsistent, eventually suggesting that the feeder area at the hide near the cafe was the place to try. The idea of a hot cuppa was welcomed by several of us, so we ambled off in the hope of both a warming beverage and a scarce bird. As we arrived there one of our number pointed out a bird at the top of a tree in the middle distance. It was a woodpecker, Great Spotted. The feeders nearby revealed Willow Tit and a range of finches but no sign of a LSW. The tea was very welcome in the chill.
Hopes were again raised when a small flock of geese flew in, landing at distance from our viewpoint. The Tundra Bean Goose had been seen with Greylags, was this to be our first rarer bird if the day? Sadly not, as the direction of the light and the distance between us and the birds made ID next to impossible. Others of our group reported Red Kite and Green Woodpecker while some had good views of Kingfisher. It was time to try for a Bittern, apparently reliable for a late afternoon fly-past. Given our "dipping-out" so far surely we were due one uncommon bird? It was not to be. The lowering sun glowed golden upon the reeds and the ice, but no Bittern showed. There was the joy of a Goldcrest in the bush by the hide, seemingly unconcerned about being stared at by several pairs of binoculars at once.
Potteric Carr is a naturalised post-industrial landscape. There are clues to the site's heritage in the remnants of mine workings, railway tracks, drainage channels and embankments. In one place there are the tangled carcases of two very old railway goods wagons, the bones of which suggest they date to the 1920's or so and were once accident victims, left to rot because they were too difficult to recover. Elsewhere there are mounds of ash and clinker and tracks of old railway ballast but all is slowly being reclaimed by nature itself. The pioneer species of willow and silver birch abound, interspersed with alder and hawthorn, ivy, ash and oak. The Group were last at Potteric Carr almost two years ago and were delighted to return. The location may not seem ideal, situated as it is between the M18 motorway and main railway lines but this is usually a most fruitful venue and ideal for a Winter day's birding. Facilities are good, the terrain is not challenging and there is potentially lots to see with occasional scarcities. Our combined Group list for the day was 65 species. There were no complaints and we set off home in contented mood.