I was at Welney today.
These were some of the hundreds of sparrows who literally cling to the visitor centre at the reserve at this time of the year. Most are house sparrows, but there are also tree sparrows.
Much of the site is currently flooded: it is on the Ouse Washes, which are designed to hold winter floodwaters. This greylag goose was unfussed:
The greylags did not have the goose interest to themselves alone. The back two here are the very much rarer Eurasian white-fronted goose, whiuch summer in the Russian Arctic tundra. These were the stars of the day.
The Greenland variety has a much more orange bill. I admit the photo has been enlarged as much as I can push it.
But the moodiest picture of the day was by Thomas, who joined me this morning. This is a pied wagtail on the roof of the visitor centre, taken from the bridge that permits access to the main observatory:
Time was well spent, I think.
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Time birding is always time well spent. I had a great day just looking in the garden and saw, amazingly, 5 tree sparrows in a bush. Once in a blue moon in a garden like ours. Simply lovely.
I like them, a lot.
Lovely photos; time well spent indeed.
Yes, time well spent. Even if you don’t feel the immediate benefits. There’s something about open water that always calms the spirit
I miss sparrows. When I was a kid you’d leave the house in the morning and they were swarming all over the pavements. Parting like the Red Sea to let you through. At that time I think the law classified them as vermin.