Hornsea Mere & Wassand 2

Jackdaw

Herring Gull
Record only pic of Mistle Thrush

Record only pic of Redwing

A very similar day to yesterday with wintery showers, especially in the morning, but not quite as overcast. The birds were quite similar to the last Wassand visit, but with better views of Great Spotted Woodpecker, especially a male in the morning. Both sessions began with a singing Mistle Thrush which is pictured above. Again we had good views of a Goldcrest in exactly the same place as last week, although it stayed high in the tree in the afternoon. In the morning a group of 49 Cormorants flew away from the Mere, although some of them did return in dribs & drabs. Another highlight of the morning were the large number of Goldeneyes displaying, plus 2 Ruddy Drakes (2 males). Meanwhile in the afternoon we caught at least 2 fleeting glimpses of the Jay, and we also heard it screeching. Another nice surprise in the afternoon was the alarm call of the Green Woodpecker, the first time any of the groups has heard this species at the Mere this year. There were Redwings around the Wassand part of the Mere all day, but in the afternoon we were able to discern that there were at least 16. In the lunch hour I was able to get close views of Herring Gull, Jackdaw etc and practice photographing birds in flight. If someone feeds the birds with bread nearby you can get some great views – better still, take some bread yourself to bring them closer!