Sunday was WeBS day

Sunday was WeBS day and it was blimmin freezin'!

A quick scout about the patch before heading to too for the match. Wildfowl numbers were down on previous months, presumably because some of the birds have started to move north again, this cold weather might have them heading back south again!

The 'redhead' smew was still on the Budge fields. Despite seeing a few displaying lapwings inland last week as well as at Druridge, there was still a decent flock of them and some curlew, so not everything has headed back to breeding grounds just yet.

The big pools was pretty-much dead.

The addition of smew during the week takes the patch total to 81 species and 91 points in the Patch Challenge.

A hunch that didn't pay off

There's been a pair of smew on Ladyburn lake at Druridge Bay Country Park for a few days now, I was there for a meeting this afternoon and a colleague had seem them at lunchtime. After the meeting I decided to have a look for them myself.....no sign.

They had probably flown over the ridge onto East Chevington, but what if, a big IF, they had gone a little bit further south....to Druridge?

Only one thing for it, I would have to check it out. My first proper post-work birding of 2011, I've missed it, just popping in to Druridge on my way home. Anyhoo, my hunch hadn't paid off, no smew at Druridge.

I did have an interesting buzzard, hovering low over NW corner of the Budge field, briefly, before it flew W behind the mounds. It was hovering quite low, with deep wing beets and showed a lot of white in the tail.

A common buzzard with white in the tail I hear you say, probably......