After several days of icy roads kept us housebound, an overnight slight thaw was sufficient incentive to do a little local birding. I chose Ludham Marshes, with three target birds more a long shot than a probability.
I saw two targets, Pam got all three.
On the bumpy drive out to St Benets Abbey, the sight of a small group of swans in a distant surface pool brought us to a halt. Viewing through the copse, Pam prounced them to be 'wild swans' but not the species. My turn on the way back....,
Alone in the car park, too cold even for dog walkers, I scoped the distant watermill meadows seeing Lapwing, Marsh Harriers and |Starling. Two chunky Chinese Water Deer fed and then made a run for it, no obvious reason for the spooking. They do look like mighty meaty little beasts. Pam called a glimpse of two Common Cranes flying low along the reeds before landing out of sight. Despite scanning for some time - I had to close my window as I was freezing - no further sightings of the pair of cranes before we had to leave. Our heating boiler was due its annual service.
The first four swans viewable through the trees were two Mute Swans and two Whooper Swans. The puddle group consisted of ten Bewick Swans. Good. A few were reported from Hickling earlier in the week but these are the first for us. Cold weather in the Netherlands must have encouraged them to move on.
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