Wintering Chiffy

17th January - nothing much of note today, but it was a lovely cold, frosty morning with some ice patches around the edge of the spit.  The cold weather had forced 5 Common Snipe into the open that could be seen attempting to probe the ground on the spit.  Shelduck numbers have been fluctuating of late, with as many as 6 seen over the weekend.  Today they were back down to 3, with a pair and another male on site.

The pair

Male of the pair

As I was watching the Shelduck, I could hear a Chiffchaff calling very close to me and sure enough one was foraging low down in the adjacent trees and scrub.  A single bird has been reported sporadically from here, so I am assuming that this is a lone wintering bird.

A Water rail was also heard squealing from somewhere near the base of the spit.