13th December 2010

Coal Tit - Stewartby Lake gullwatch

Fieldfare - near wetland 3

Jay - Feeding station near the Pillinge hide

Fox - Marston corner of Stewartby Lake.

I postponed my plans for an early start this morning as it was extremely foggy. Even by 9am when I got to Stewartby Lake the entire lake was still hidden in the fog. Just as I was leaving the gullwatch the Coal Tit appeared right in front of me for just long enough to get a few poor records shots of it in the very dull and foggy light. I also saw a Fox near the stream outlet in the Marston corner of Stewartby Lake.

I then walked round to the visitors centre to get a coffee and wait for the fog to lift. A Red Kite flew passed the centre about 11am but it disappeared too quickly for me to get any photos. I watched a Peregrine was sitting on one of the chimneys on the far side of Stewartby Lake for a few minutes before it took over and flew away towards the tip.

I then did a circuit of the Pillinge where I saw large numbers of Redwings and Fieldfares. There were 100s of both of these birds on the park all weekend. Again, no sight or sound of Bearded Tits or Cetti's Warblers...