WHITLINGHAM: February wildfowl count

The ongoing saga that is connecting our house to the internet is ongoing, so here is a brief catchup on recent trips.

11^th February 2017

February’s wetland bird survey was a rather quiet affair, with large reductions in the number of ducks from January. The most interesting sighting was two Little Egrets flying east over the broad, one shortly after I arrived and one a couple of hours later. A drake Wigeon was also of interest, and there were good numbers of Siskin flying around.

Combined totals of selected species were:

·         Gadwall 130 (2016: 39)

·         Tufted Duck 216 (2016: 164)

·         Pochard 25 (2016: 10)

·         Coot 179 (2016:72)

I couldn’t see the Black-necked Grebe on Thorpe Broad from my vantage point at Whitlingham, but I did see David Norgate who then saw the grebe, so it was present by proxy. As far as I know it was last seen on 14^th February, having stayed for two weeks.