Set off to Abberton this morning with a view to visit the reservoir, the hides and then check for wildfowl from the casueway that crosses the water where you can park easily and scan the huge area. Good birds, including smew, white fronted geese, solitary pink footed goose and 7 goosanders.
I parked on the Layer Bretton Causeway and immediately heard a single note, high pitched call. An otter! After 15 minutes of waiting I noted some of the bullrushes moving and out popped a young, 1st year otter. My first for England. After a few minutes it disappeared back into the vegetation but reappeared briefly some 20 minutes later. Managed to fire off these record shots.
Plenty of birds seen whilst I was present, too. Species list:
- Great crested grebe
- Cormorant
- Cattle egret
- Great white egret
- Grey heron
- Mute swan
- White fronted goose
- Pink footed goose
- Greylag goose
- Canada goose
- Barnacle goose
- Egyptian goose
- Mallard
- Gadwall
- Shoveler
- Wigeon
- Teal
- Pochard
- Tufted duck
- Goldeneye
- Goosander
- Kestrel
- Common buzzard
- Pheasant
- Moorhen
- Coot
- Golden plover
- Lapwing
- Black tailed godwit
- Snipe
- Ruff
- Black headed gull
- Common gull
- Herring gull
- Great black backed gull
- Lesser black backed gull
- Wood pigeon
- Collared dove
- Great spotted woodpecker
- Skylark
- Meadow pipit
- Pied wagtail
- Wren
- Robin
- Dunnock
- Redwing
- Blackbird
- Great tit
- Blue tit
- Long tailed tit
- Magpie
- Jackdaw
- Carrion crow
- Rook
- Starling
- House sparrow
- Chaffinch
- Goldfinch
- Greenfinch
Many of the birds were distant so these are crops.
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| Black tailed godwit |
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| Black tailed godwit |
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| Distant drake Goosander |
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| Rooks |
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| Wigeon |
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| Great black backed and Black headed gulls |
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| Cattle egret |
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| Lapwing |
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| drake Teal |
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| Duck Teal |
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| Common gull |
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| Huge number of Tufted duck |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Barnacle geese |
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| White fronted geese |
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| Great crested grebe |
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| 2 Canada geese, 7 White fronts, 1 Pink foot goose and 2 Barnacle geese |
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| White fronted geese |
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| Grey heron |
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| Drake Goosander |
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| Female Chaffinch |
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| Pied wagtail |
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| 4 Barnacle geese, 1 White front |
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| Very distant Great white egret |
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| Black headed gull |
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| Male chaffinch |
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| Mute swan |
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| Gadwall |
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| Drake Goldeneye |
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| Male Chaffinch with fungal infection of the legs |
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| Egyptian goose |
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| Another Grey heron, there were plenty. |
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| Ruff and incoming Lapwing |
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| Black tailed godwit |
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| Final otter shot |
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