24th Feb 2015: Goldcrests

There were only three Goosanders (1 drake) at the reservoir this morning but eight Great Crested Grebes was nice. There were more gulls hanging around today and at first there was only Black-headed, Common and Lesser Black-backed as usual, but on my way back to the car park I found two Herring Gulls. They are relatively scarce here and although not new for the year, they were the first ones I had seen here this year.

It the wood it was sheltered from the wind and actually quite warm. The Willow Tit was active with the main feeding flock and showed well on and off but would disappear for long periods of time. Quite often it was still in the same area but it's habit of feeding in the thicker growth of trees, particularly at the base of the Alders, means it can easily be overlooked. I couldn't find any Chiffchaffs today.

There are loads of Goldcrest in the wood this winter and it must be a sign of the current and recent mild winters. It is a hard task to go in to the wood at the moment and not see or hear them and most are singing now. It is hard to count them accurately as they are always moving and spread out around the wood but there are at least ten, if not fifteen or more.