08th February 2021: Jack Snipe and so many other amazing birds and more on a memorable Lakeside lunch time walk for birds: 5 of these pictures different to those I tweeted tonight the second, third, fifth, sixth and eighth in this photoset
The light snowdrops had begun to fall as I took my lunch time daily exercise walk at Lakeside and I took the first picture in this photoset of one of a few Starlings in the garden before I left for it today. I got to Lakeside and was delighted to see a Green Woodpecker soon into the walk going down the path between the two fenced off areas always an exciting moment that I’ve had the pleasure of so often this year already, and quickly see two thrushes fly across the northern fenced off area to some tall trees beside the railway track and I could see these were Redwings thanks to a camera zoom in.
As the snow continued to fall and lightly line the gravel of the path I was thrilled to see a wading bird dart across the path in flight. It settled briefly beside a flooded area in the nature reserve area and I saw it again walk across this field and could just about make out it was a Jack Snipe! This was an exceptional bird to see at Lakeside another going on that illustrious list of top species of bird I have seen on these walks since working from home coming so soon after Goosander last week was great. But this one I had seen at Lakeside before in 2018 and its a story that makes me happy. This was during the beast from the east the heavy snowfall that year which many have likened this week’s upcoming weather to. I saw my first Jack Snipe of the year on a walk at a different location at the weekend. I said after we saw it I bet I will see a Jack Snipe at Lakeside now as it had been one of my targets here since the start of the year with me having the time and space in the daily walks to look for one whilst walking as such which I maybe didn’t in past years. And I especially thought that because I knew it was getting colder and I associated that ultimately cold weather with the one Friday on a work snow day we saw some here. Just like the different species of gulls on the main lake where loads go beach lake I’d predicted this sighting but for it to happen on the Monday after for me to have seen two Jack Snipes in three days fantastic! And unprecedented for me for the species. I took the second, third and fourth pictures in this photoset as I walked on the fourth showing that ever so slight laying of the snow. The sixth picture in this photoset showing the flood that I’ve noticed here since October I believe frozen over like a lot of Lakeside once more today.
Next I got to enjoy that delightful array of gulls on the lake some more, but not before spotting two Canada Geese here building on the one on Friday on the lake behind it. A bird that is making me feel whilst bitterly cold today spring like as they are only here at Lakeside in spring and into summer when they nest here. I took the fifth picture in this photoset of the pair. And on the theme of birds I only usually see in spring I was delighted to spot the Lesser Black-backed Gull shown in the eighth picture in this photoset. This added so nicely to the bird I saw as my first Lesser Black-backed Gull of the year from my bedroom window nearby last week it may have been the same one as there do seem to be two regular birds in the season. I was delighted to see the striking yellow legs and sweet slate grey back of this bigger gull than the constant flock of Black-headed Gulls which I have nicely become so familiar with. It was a slice of gull heaven I think for a local country park right next to the house in an urban area as I spotted a third species, the mid-way between the Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed size wise Common Gull. There seems to have been a regular one overwintering here which I’ve seen so many times. Its interesting that a year ago I would have said hands down lesser is way more common than common - so called more so for where you are likely to find them than their status - but I’ve had an unbelievable local start to my 2021 for this species seeing Common Gulls nearly everywhere I’ve been able to go in Hampshire really and have become so used to this wonderful and beautiful species that lesser seemed like more of the find today. Both common and also here Mediterranean Gull a few weeks ago beat lesser onto my year list which was interesting. It was obviously fantastic to see both of these quite different gulls for me and ones I like so much and celebrate them both today.
Catkins had been visible more and more and present in my photos the past month or so and today I noticed how they’d overcome the landscape, giving a great slight emerald glow to the grey affair another sign spring is approaching. They stood out in the view over a lake in the seventh picture in this photoset that I took today.
I carried on seeing brilliant avian sights as the walk went on, Great Crested Grebe on two lakes by an interesting gush in the water of a quite full lake, a Mallard pair and a close view of Tufted Ducks such as the female in the ninth picture in this photoset. I had not seen a female well lately. As I rounded beach lake to the north of it I got really close Goldfinch views of them in trees maybe a more wild location to see them than our feeders whilst I love and get so much out of them being at home, and after flying over after a Coot squeaked noticeably and loudly the other side of the lake I caught up with the Lesser Black-backed Gull a star of today on a buoy which I tweeted pictures of tonight on Dans_Pictures as I have photographed before. I enjoyed seeing it up close again and seeing it on the fishing jetty as I took in the three types of gulls one last time. Standing beside a miniature reed bed I was thrilled to see a little Wren which I took the tenth and final picture in this photoset of flitting in and out and sitting on posts a great experience to be so close to this delightful bird. As I got back up towards the entrance the Lakeside bit of the walk ended as it had started with a flash of greens darting across of the Green Woodpecker.
This was definitely one of my most memorable daily exercise whilst working from home at lunch time walks for birdwatching yet. I don’t know whether the cold weather brought a lot in and allowed it to be visible to this urban country park or not some species it probably did others it didn’t make a difference but I just saw so many species and so many of them were the most exciting and special ones. A brilliant way to escape within my lunch time walk I had so much fun watching so many great birds today this day will stick in my mind forever. As I mentioned in this tweet: https://twitter.com/Dans_Pictures/status/1358838837749944321 and a butterfly a day one which I am loving doing as a lockdown daily past photo tweeting thread for the third time that followed this day last year was one of my best of the year and one of my most unforgettable partly because of the sheer amount of species I saw and I think today more locally rivaled that.
Wildlife Sightings Summary: Two of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe and Green Woodpecker, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Redwing, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Wren, Robin, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Goose, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Jack Snipe.
