A Day Out at Welney

19th February 2025

Time for a day out with No1 son Mark and where better to go than Welney. As is often the case we were welcomed by a Tree Sparrow which used to be plentiful in Herts but now extinct as a breeding species. Fortunately they are still abundant at Welney.

Once settled in the main hide it wasn't long before a female Marsh Harrier wafted past so off to a good start.

The Pochard is the most common duck at Welney by far and are nearly all males as the females tend to spend the winter in Spain.

This one was displaying but was wasting his time as there were about 200 males and only two females............

...............and here they are looking totally disinterested.

The second most numerous duck is the Wigeon but tend to steer clear of the water in front of the main hide and are more likely to bee seen close up from the other hides. However, they do tend to spend most of their time asleep.

The commonest wader at Welney is the Black-tailed Godwit and can often be seen feeding in the shallows.

However, they are easily spooked by the various birds of prey that frequent the reserve and put on spectacular aerial displays until the threat has passed.

Dunlin are common waders but more of a coastal species and not very often found this far inland, and I can't remember the last time I saw one at Welney.

There were also a few Snipe present which love to feed in the muddy margins with short vegetation for cover.

Preening with a bill this long must be quite difficult.

From the Lyle Hide there were seven Ruff, including this one developing a nice white Ruff.

And last but not least the Curlew of which there were six on the scrape from Friend's Hide. The smaller one is a godwit. I have been coming to Welney for years now but don't recall ever seeing a Curlew here.

And now for the main stars of Welney, the Whooper Swans, but today was very different to previous visits. Normally they fly in to the area in front of the hides at dusk and roost overnight, and then fly out to the fields in the morning to feed. However today, as we were walking over the bridge to the main hide, hundreds and hundreds were flying from the fields and on to the reserve. In all the years I have been coming here I have never seen so many birds on the reserve during the day, just a white mass as far as you could see.

And always nice to see some family parties.

And the beauty of Welney is it is easy to get some close-ups.

And the added bonus today was the wind was from the east which meant as birds were flying in or out they were always flying towards the hide. How good is that?

But the real stars of the show in terms of rarity were the five Bewicks Swans that were visible from the Lyle and Friends Hides. Their numbers have dropped considerably from the hundreds that used to be in front of the main hide, so much so they get chased off by the Whoopers and are therefore exiled to the extreme ends of the wetlands. These were the first Bewicks I have seen for a few years.

Well, Welney never disappoints, and also good to have a chat with Lizzie Bruce who has taken over as Site Manager.