Potteric Carr – December 11th

Thirteen of us went to Potteric Carr today in calm and, for the time of year, very mild conditions. Bird wise it was rather a quiet day – though we did clock up around 60 species as we walked round the reserve. It’s been a while since the Club went there and it was interesting to see how much it has changed. The more notable sightings included a Bittern flying over, but that was only seen by a couple of lucky people; a small skein of eight Whoopers flying overhead, followed immediately after by a small flock of Fieldfares; Willow Tits visiting feeders by the Education Centre; a Marsh Harrier which gave prolonged views as it quartered Huxter Well Marsh; a couple of Stonechats; and the male of a pair of Red-crested Pochards provided a good splash of colour. The year of the Goldcrest continued with lots of sightings and there were numerous Long-tailed Tit families flitting about. Sadly the Starling murmuration seen several times earlier in the week did not materialise and we were all surprised that there were no Redpoll, Siskin or Greenfinches about. However it was interesting to visit the reserve with the new visitor centre and car park now open.
A pleasant if rather quiet end to the Club’s birding for the year.

Jane Chapman