Back home to Great White Egrets

Canary taken with a Happy Snapper.

After a virtually birdless  Xmas week in the sun in the Canary Island of La Palma it was good to get back to the marsh.

Most of yesterday was spent tidying the garden and retrieving the greenhouse from next door, the neighbours said it had been a little windy while I was away.

In the bright sunshine of this morning I went out onto Walland Marsh, the 37 Bewick Swans were still in the fields north of Caldecott Lane, At Baynham farm plenty of Tree Sparrows with the Chaffinches and a Yellowhammer.

The storms have remodelled the shoreline at the fishing boats where in a nearby roost a 2w Caspian Gull could be seen, while on the sea many Great Crested Grebes, Guillemots and a few Red-throated Divers.

On the ARC large numbers of common duck with 6+ Goldeneye and 2 Great White Egrets, another Great White Egret on New Diggings, 3 more in the Boulderwall Fields from the entrance track and another 2 from Dennis's hide making a minimum of 8 birds.

An excellent hour spent at lunchtime scoping out from the Plodland balcony saw 3 Great White Egrets (presumably the Boulderwall 3), 2 Little Egrets, 4 Marsh Harriers, 2 Common Buzzards, a Peregrine, 2 Ravens, 100s each of Lapwing and Golden Plover, a flock of c100 Stock Doves, 8 Red-legged Partridges and more. (still no Bittern or Glossy Ibis from Plodland).

Early afternoon at Scotney the Long-tailed Duck still present with seemingly many more Wigeon than my last visit.

Late afternoon at a Marsh Harrier roost 4 adult males roosted, (despite the disturbance by a family walking along the tops of the banks shouting at there 4 barking dogs) also seen there 100s of duck on the flooded fields, 1,000s of Lapwing and Golden Plover, 2 Common Buzzards, 2 Bearded Tits also Water Rail and Cetti's warblers calling.