View from Barming Bridge towards East Farleigh
Tufties - a rare River tick
There was no frost and much of the snow and ice of the last week had started to thaw but it was a dull, foggy morning. First birds up were 2x Tufted Ducks (a rarity for the river), then 3x Cormorants overhead followed by a flotilla of Canada Geese that also contained one Greylag and a Greylag x Canada hybrid.
Canada and Greylag x Canada hybrid Geese
One Snipe was flushed from 'Snipe Marsh' but I picked up the trail of what I presumed was a Woodcock. It meandered all over the snow, down into ditches and back up again with disturbed snow where presumably it had been feeding based on the 'probe' holes in the snow. I followed the tracks to a small copse and up flushed a Woodcock - too quick for a photo - that flew low over the railway in dropped into the field SE of St Margaret's Church. I felt like a right Davy Crocket (I'm sure that's prison slang for something?!)!
Signs of Woodcock - plenty of holes where it's been probing!
On the way through Bradbourne to the pub at lunchtime a lone Lapwing lifted up from in front of the house and the massed ranks of Grey Geese on the opposite bank of the lake had me wondering if a White-front wasn't with them?
