Friday, 2 January 2015

Snipe and Hen Harrier

After a couple of wam and clear days things have turned more chilly and gloomy but a new year always provides the opportunity to start again with the recording of the local birds and there's a rather childish delight for me when I see/hear the first-for-the-year of each species.
Today I took a walk close to the Charente near Luxé. The damp meadows there provide a good habitat for some wetland species but they are sadly thin on the ground because of the chasse.
A single snipe, two reed buntings and a hen harrier were the highlights but there were small flocks of both water and meadow pipits. A few cormorants were flying around and a solitary black headed gull passed high overhead but the most beautiful bird was a grey wagtail whose lemon yellow plumage glowed in the dismal light.

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