Winter Visitors

It was rather blustery this morning and it looked like it might rain on us at any moment. So with that in mind, we set out for a short walk around Straw's Bridge. On 'Swan Lake', we were pleased to see a small group of Pochards.

Pochards (Aythya ferina) are a resident of the British Isles but their numbers are boosted in Winter, by incoming migrants. Numbers reaching around 48,000 individuals.

As usual with Wildfowl, the males are much more colourful than the females and display a wonderful chestnut coloured head and the brightest red eyes you can imagine. Unfortunately, they are on the RSPB red list meaning that their numbers have fallen drastically in the last 25 years.

The wind today, was doing its best to relieve the trees of the last of their autumn colour but thankfully, there is still some to be found.