Eldernell is a name that always sends an involuntary shudder up my spine as memories of howling gales and sub zero temperatures come to the surface. This morning Alan Shorrock and I would have been grateful for some of that wind as a thick fog had descended reducing visibility to a few hundred yards. It lingered for much of the morning before clearing for a while in the early afternoon. Respite was relatively brief however as an evening mist rolled in leading to another reduction in visibility which prompted us to leave.
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| Whooper Swans |
Despite the fog we managed to see a good selection of birds of which Bittern was the highlight. Alan picked it out flying in from the marsh before it landed in a reedbed next to a lake near the carpark. A Great White Egret was also noted which with Grey Heron took our heron total to three. That same lake that sheltered the Bittern hosted a good selection of duck of which CA10 Pintail were the pick. Somewhat later in the morning the ducks were joined by an immature Whooper Swan, other Whoopers were seen out on the washes. Raptors always feature to some degree here and five species were noted today with Marsh Harrier and Peregrine being the highlights. Not too much in the way of passerines to report though Redpoll was heard and several Stonechats were seen. Eldernell is a noted spot for Cranes nowadays and we were treated to distant views of a pair of adults with an immature. Final act of the day was a Short-eared Owl which had risen up above the swirling mist to escape the attentions of a pesky crow.
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| Pintails and Roe Deer |
Not much in the way of non bird life was on view though we did see a number of Roe Deer feeding out on the washes. Perhaps surprisingly given the conditions a Peacock butterfly was seen briefly, if it has any sense it will be searching out a suitable spot in which to hibernate!
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| A rare appearance by the sun! |
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