Lake Lothing & Oulton Broad
Sunday 12th January 2003.
Nine members met at Harbour Road for the first excursion of 2003. The surrounding trees were covered in a haw frost in temperatures reaching only 1c.
Whilst waiting to leave the car park a skein of 18 Greylag geese flew over us from the Northwest calling as they flew in v formation towards the sea.
The group began as usual along the north shore & in a state of low tide up to 12 Redshank were seen & three Turnstones flew up river.
A Kingfisher duly obliged us with cracking views as it flew & then perched on one of the piers for all to see. Here also three Egyptian Geese were seen, a pair together & a single interloper who was soon seen off by the other two. Gorse was recorded in flower, which was no surprise as it is a perpetual flowering shrub anyway. As we passed the old wrecks on the shoreline Two Little Grebes were fishing alongside two Shags. A Sparrrow hawk flew overhead as we neared the boatyards.
Here the Reedham Vehicle Ferry was seen high & dry for a clean up. All were surprised at the shallow draft of the boat. In Mutford Lock Basin Three Dunlin were seen along with Three Ringed Plover, moving North now towards their breeding grounds. Another obliging Kingfisher was seen here too with the bill colour denoting it as a female.
Oulton Broad was frozen over except for a small open area, which was filled with various duck. A great surprise here was a pair of Scaup. A cracking male & female very close views were obtained of this very confiding duck.
Another little brown job was seen & we were all at odds to what it was. On taking notes & looking it up at home I was able to identify it as a Juv Pochard . The walk back to Lake Lothing produced the over-wintering Common Sandpiper & another 60 Greylag flying south East.
Only Sea Radish was the other plant recorded in flower.
CJ
:t: :t: :t: :t: :t:
Sunday 12th January 2003.
Nine members met at Harbour Road for the first excursion of 2003. The surrounding trees were covered in a haw frost in temperatures reaching only 1c.
Whilst waiting to leave the car park a skein of 18 Greylag geese flew over us from the Northwest calling as they flew in v formation towards the sea.
The group began as usual along the north shore & in a state of low tide up to 12 Redshank were seen & three Turnstones flew up river.
A Kingfisher duly obliged us with cracking views as it flew & then perched on one of the piers for all to see. Here also three Egyptian Geese were seen, a pair together & a single interloper who was soon seen off by the other two. Gorse was recorded in flower, which was no surprise as it is a perpetual flowering shrub anyway. As we passed the old wrecks on the shoreline Two Little Grebes were fishing alongside two Shags. A Sparrrow hawk flew overhead as we neared the boatyards.
Here the Reedham Vehicle Ferry was seen high & dry for a clean up. All were surprised at the shallow draft of the boat. In Mutford Lock Basin Three Dunlin were seen along with Three Ringed Plover, moving North now towards their breeding grounds. Another obliging Kingfisher was seen here too with the bill colour denoting it as a female.
Oulton Broad was frozen over except for a small open area, which was filled with various duck. A great surprise here was a pair of Scaup. A cracking male & female very close views were obtained of this very confiding duck.
Another little brown job was seen & we were all at odds to what it was. On taking notes & looking it up at home I was able to identify it as a Juv Pochard . The walk back to Lake Lothing produced the over-wintering Common Sandpiper & another 60 Greylag flying south East.
Only Sea Radish was the other plant recorded in flower.
CJ
:t: :t: :t: :t: :t:
