Whitlingham (14)

23rd April 2009

Having been at work all week I took advantage of a warm evening to get down to Whitlingham. The brood of 4 Egyptian Geese are all still alive and well, but the Mallard ducklings were down to 3! Walking round there were another two broods of Egyptian Geese (3 & 9), a brood of 4 Coot and a Moorhen nesting 6 feet up in a tree! The pair of Grey Wagtails were also around the Little Broad beach.

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Moorhen in a tree. According to the guy I was talking to, the Moorhens have to climb up the branches rather than fly in to the nest!

The Great Broad was fairly quiet, 13 Sand Martins and a singing Lesser Whitethroat were the highlights. Scanning the old workings produced one Shelduck and around 30 Tufted Ducks. Again my timing was off (next day Sandwich and Little Terns seen), but the walk was pleasant and had a good chat with one of the locals.