Broxbourne Woods NNR
The morning started with a trip to Broxbourne Woods hoping to connect with the three Parrot Crossbills that were first reported on the 18th December. Although they have not been reported every day since that first sighting I was hopeful they would show this morning having been seen for much of the previous day.
Arriving around 9.30am I followed the track to the crossroads and found the three Crossbills feeding in the Pine trees adjacent to the metal gate immediately. Below is a record shot of the female taken with my phone handheld to the scope.
 |
| Parrot Crossbill |
Bramfield
Moving on to Bramfield we parked up outside the church and headed towards the back of the churchyard and scanned the Yew and Ash trees inside and adjoining the church grounds. At first, there was no sign but a very vocal Nuthatch kept us entertained. Suddenly five Hawfinch flew behind the church and two landed in the Ash tree. An added bonus here was a single Brambling that at one point was sitting alongside one of the Hawfinch.
 |
| Hawfinch |
Lemsford Springs
The final trip of the morning was to Lemsford Springs. A small nature reserve featuring old Watercress beds which hold abundant numbers of shrimp which in turn attract Green Sandpipers. As soon as we entered the first of the two hides we found three Green Sandpipers feeding on the shrimps directly in front of us within the freshwater lagoons. A Grey Wagtail appeared further along the channel for another welcome year tick and a Red Kite drifted directly overhead.
 |
| Green Sandpiper |
 |
| Red Kite |
 |
| A view of the old Watercress lagoons at Lemsford Springs. |
No comments:
Post a Comment