My First Visit This Winter to the St Albans Watercress Beds

1st January 2024

I would normally pay a visit to this wonderful local nature reserve before Christmas but this winter the weather has been so mild and the winter finches such as Siskins and Redpolls have been thin on the ground, and Bramblings virtually non-existent. So this visit was more exploratory.

One of the bridges was flooded but we eventually made our way round to the feeder and settled down to see what was going to appear. Normally this feeder is very busy with a constant stream of the more common birds, interpersed with some of our target species. But today it was eerily quiet, consistent with other areas we visit. However, you can always rely on the local Robin to put in an appearance, serenading us from just a few yards away.

Then high above us in the Alders came the raucous call of a Jay, which unfortunately was hidden in a sea of Alder cones, but a male Great Spotted Woodpecker was a little more obliging.

Now on to the feeders with the usual suspects of Chaffinch and Goldfinch making an appearance.

Siskins also put in an appearance but most preferred to feed high up on the natural Alder cones where 20+ birds were present.

Eventually a single Redpoll put in an appearance. I normally refuse to photograph birds on feeders but I have included this record shot just to prove they do exist here.

Perhaps the number of birds will increase if we have a cold spell which doesn't sound far away.