Frosty Fairburn

It was a cold and frosty day at Fairburn Ings yesterday the 29th although pleasantly sunny and it did warm up a bit in the afternoon, from the Kingfisher screen a large shoal of little fish were being very active and a Water Rail was taking advantage of the feeding bonanza as it regularly emerged from the vegetation, dropped into the water, caught a fish and took it back into cover, the Kingfishers however were not with just a single brief sighting further back along the dyke during the time I was there. Late morning I headed to the Lin Dyke end in search of the recent Great White Egret but the reserve was largely frozen and although I found Grey Herons and Little Egrets there was no sign of the Great White, a walk round to Hickson’s Flash was rewarded by a couple of fairly confiding Bullfinches. After some lunch I returned to the centre and decided to have a stroll around the Coal Tip Walk which offers some amazing views over the reserve, a Green Woodpecker showed well and about halfway round looking out over the Moat there was the Great White Egret feeding along the edge of some open water, I also bumped into Fairburn regular Vince who I hadn’t seen for a while so we had a bit of a catch up, as the sun dipped down we had a good count of 60+ Goosanders which roost on one of the top Pools and a small murmuration of Starlings looked impressive against the reddening sky, all in all a very pleasant day.

Frosty Fairburn

do you ever get the feeling your'e being followed

the fishing Water Rail

going fishing

that didn't take long

at the feeders

a bit of frozen veg

Bullfinch looking good in the sun

plus Reed Bunting

the view over Lin Dyke end from Coal Tip Walk

Good views of Green Woody if just a little distant for the camera

and found the Great White Egret at the last

the obligatory sunset