A Winter's Day at Welney

10th December 2022

Arrived at Welney with temperatures below zero so not too surprised to see some Redwings making the most of some Hawthorn berries in the car park.

Also good to see some Tree Sparrows with one pair showing a distinct interest in their nest box which they are probably using to roost in.

A freezing cold spell in the south-east so not too surprised to see that the main lagoon was frozen over apart from a small pool in front of the main hide where the feeding takes place and most of the ducks are concentrated. Not many waders around due to the ice, just a few Black-tailed Godwits buried in the vegetation and only visble when they flew.

The feeding seesions are always a busy time and totday was totally dominated by Mallard. I don't recall seeing so many at Welney.

The Shovelers and Teal didn't join in as they do not feed on grain.

Pochard are by far the commonest species in front of the main hide, and today was no exception. The males are always resplendent in the sun which shows of their red eyes.....................

....................but the far duller females are extremely photogenic despite their grey and brown plumage.

There were a few pairs of Mute Swan around and this pair obviously had a very close bond.

This is some form of display behaviour which I haven't seen before.

And there are the beautiful Whooper Swans that fly in each year from their breeding grounds in Iceland to spend the winter at Welney.

The youngsters which migrate with them are a lovely soft grey colour opposed to the brown plumage of young Mute Swans. They also have a delicate pink bill.

As you can see I find photographing Whooper Swans very addictive.

The advantage of much of the water being iced over is that it encourages a lot of movement and therefore plenty of opportunities for some flight shots. Here are some Wigeon and Pintail re-locating after being spooked by a Marsh Harrier.

And as it gets closer to feeding time many more ducks fly in allowing some action shots...............

...................and even some more eccentric shots.

Pintails and Wigeon are always a dream to photograph, but especially in such fabulous light.

Even the Mute Swans were on the move, but found it easier to take off than land on the ice which caused some rather precarios moments.

But finally on to the comics of short landings, the Pochard. They fly in at a reasonable height but then seem to leave it to the last minute to land so everything looks like a bit of a panic. I have tried to capture the momernt over the next few shots.

Another fabulous day at Welney.