Wednesday, August 05, 2020

Lockdown Diary: Monday 3.8.20

I am once more topping up the ‘drinking pond’ in our garden so I just popped out (at 9.30am) to check on progress. Fine, thanks for asking. I heard a high-pitched squeak coming from the hedge near the main pond, and a little bit of scanning with my ‘noculars revealed a beautiful little juvenile Wren, complete with bright yellow gape line (always a giveaway of a new youngster). No photo yet, but I may go out with a camera, later.

In the evening, I found myself, once more at Deeping Lakes. Nothing much to report about there, apart from a bit of ‘movement’ of Mistle Thrushes. First 2 came rattling over heading SW. These were closely followed by a tight flock of 8, then another 2 and 15 minutes later another 2 (total 16 Mistle Thrushes). This is hardly an earth-shattering flock but did seem unusual. You don’t see too many Mistle Thrush flocks do you?However, look out for the Autumn issue of Bird Watching magazine, as Dominic Couzens has an article specifically about flocking in Mistle Thrushes!

Also at Deeping Lakes was a Shelduck (probably a juvenile, but hard to tell as it was always asleep). Most Shelducks go to the Waddenzee to moult in August, so perhaps this one has been left behind. i am told there were more than 6,000 along the Humber the other day, though, so I guess the rest have not all got there yet…

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