Ducks up

With the morning free before an afternoon hockey match, a visit to Girton Pits beckoned. I did a complete sweep of the site, which was looking crisp in the morning's frost, for my WeBS count.

A frosty A1133 Pit at Girton

There was nothing much out of the ordinary, but duck numbers were definately up from last visit (260 Mallard, 187 Wigeon, 292 Tufties). Highlights were 3 Green Sands (2 on the Sailing Lake and one on the A1133 Pit) and 50 Pink-feet heading west, whilst on the Trent there were 3 adult Whooper Swans (no doubt the birds from Besthorpe NWT last weekend), and a smart drake Goosander.

3 Whooper Swans on the Trent at Girton

On the way home a drove through Spalford Warren to get Great Spotted Woodpecker for my yearlist (which I did). A lot of conifer felling work is underway at the site - bad for Crossbills but good for Woodlark!