3rd-6th January

A crisp but very birdable few days saw a few more cold weather refugees pitch up around the island. There were no particular surprises but Goosanders included a new drake at Ferrybridge on 4th and a group of 5 there on 6th. Daily Golden Plovers peaked at 9 at the Bill on 5th, with 1-3 of both Lapwing and Snipe also nearly daily; a Whimbrel at Ferrybridge on 4th was presumably the individual that's been wintering a little further up the Fleet.

Full blown drake Goosanders aren't at all frequent in these parts so the Ferrybridge bird on 4th was a treat © Pete Saunders:

A few of the Golden Plovers on 5th © Verity Hill:

Wader numbers have been on the up at Ferrybridge in the last few days - perhaps as a result of the shoreline being quite frozen in places further up the Fleet © Pete Saunders:

And a couple of recordings from the the nocmig recorder that we deployed at the Obs last night for the first time in several weeks. Having been quiet - and unseen - for several weeks, Barn Owls have suddenly got really noisy in the vicinity of the Obs - the recorder logged 142 calls between 11pm and dawn (...that's the Obs Quarry Little Owl calling away in the background, with another individual joining in for good measure):

Pre-dawn Golden Plover(s) passing overhead: