Our first of two guided walks this year to look out for over-wintering wildfowl - a speciality of Stocker’s Lake.

Dick Beeden led the walk which was attended by 7 other people. Slightly surprisingly the weather was bright sunshine - virtually no wind and cold but not freezing. This gave good light for identifying the birds most of the time. The number of birds on the lake and in the surrounding trees etc were disappointingly low. We saw all the species we heard and ended with a tally of 32 species, not a bad tally given most years.

From the heron watch point on the canal path we could see several birds occupying nest sites among the trees on the island opposite. However they were not yet displaying nesting behaviour. Given that the earliest eggs might well be laid by the end of January it is likely that they soon will be.

The full list of species seen was:

Great-crested Grebe; Cormorant; Grey Heron; Canada Goose; Egyptian Goose; Mallard; Shoveler; Pochard; Tufted Duck; Wigeon (half a dozen plus); Gadwall; Wren; Moorhen; Coot; Lapwing; Black-headed Gull (lots); Lesser Black-backed Gull (several: numbers seem to be increasing); Herring Gull; Woodpigeon; Ring-necked Parakeet; Jay (good views); Robin; Blue Tit; Great Tit; Long-tailed Tit; Goldfinch; Magpie; Wren; Siskin; Carrion Crow; Dunnock and Blackbird. A Goosander was reported and possibly seen flying west over the lake. There were some noticeable absentees apart from Smew - namely no raptors or Kingfishers (seen on the way in by Dick and on the way out by Nicola), Mute Swan, Little Egret, Goldeneye, Red-Crested Pochard, Woodpecker, Chaffinch or Starling.

Dick Beeden