Floods, Ice and Wildfowl

Wishing all readers of this blog a very merry Christmas and a bird-filled New Year.

Sunset over the flooded Wildfowlers' Pools

My own resolution for 2018 will be to try and post on here a bit more often than I have of late... to summarise the past few weeks: rain, rain, ice, rain, drizzle.

Flooded Wildfowlers' Pools

Nothing much has changed birds-wise beyond a few ducks dropping in here and there.
The high water levels have attracted a few more dabblers than we normally get at Aldcliffe and the Wildfowlers' Pools have seen several pintail (not a common bird on this stretch of the Lune) and a few shoveler too. Teal numbers have been impressive at times and last week there was a mass arrival of mallard with in excess of a hundred birds present.
A few pink-footed geese have commuted over from the Oxcliffe area or stopped off briefly while heading through but as is the norm here at this time of year no big numbers yet.

Whooper swan at the Wildfowlers' Pools

Whooper swans have been sporadic; a family group flew in and landed on the Wildfowlers' Pools this morning while other small parties have come and gone in recent weeks.
Still no short-eared or barn owls in the area as far as I can tell - please let me know if you have seen any. I was pleased to relocate the little owls near FAUNA following their post-breeding vanishing act.
The cycle track is still well under water (probably the best vehicle deterrent there is and certainly more effective than that next-to-useless gate by Keyline).
 

Flooded cycle track

Now, let's hope for another nice prolonged cold spell to get things moving around a bit!

Jon