Bowling Green Marsh,

Bowling Green Marsh,

20th February

A group of eight – rising to nine later in the morning – met in the Holman Way car park on a grey morning. As we set off several of us automatically started to turn left to go to the hide first, but for a change we turned right and went down to the estuary. Having volunteered to keep the record of the day’s sightings I was kept busy noting what others had seen (House Sparrow; Starling; various tits) but, confession over early, I cannot say I saw every bird the group noticed.

The tide was out, the lowest I’ve ever seen it, but there were waders and wintering ducks nonetheless. One of the first glories of the day was Goldeneye; then Red-breasted Merganser. Flitting through the trees along the Strand was a family of Long-tailed Tits. Shelduck showed up brightly from the Goat Walk. From the viewing platform there were close up views of Avocet and in the distance a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming. Try as we might, we could not see him.

The hide was packed with families with youngsters on half-term enjoying the birds – the Black-tailed Godwit, Teal and Wigeon and Pintail and Snipe for those with sharp eyes.

In all, a varied morning with a pleasing total of 51 species seen and some spring song heard.

Jan Croysdale

Birds seen, in BOU order or alphabetic order

BOU order

Canada Goose

Brent Goose

Shelduck

Wigeon

Teal

Mallard

Pintail

Shoveler

Tufted Duck

Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

Cormorant

Little Egret

Grey Heron

Moorhen

Coot

Avocet

Grey Plover

Lapwing

Dunlin

Snipe

Black-tailed Godwit

Curlew

Redshank

Greenshank

Black-headed Gull

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Wood Pigeon

Collared dove

Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard only)

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Wren

Dunnock

Robin

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Redwing

Long-tailed Tit

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Jay

Magpie

Jackdaw

Carrion Crow

Starling

Sparrow

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Goldfinch

Alphabetic order