Pennington Flash

The Spit in Sunny October

Following yesterday's somewhat disappointing birding trip, I went out to Penny today in bright autumn sunshine.  I had agreed to meet Dave Broome at Horrocks Hide because he was getting rid of some old birding magazines and had said I could have them.

Redwing Eating Berries

After meeting up with Dave and talking to David Wilson, I carried on round the hides, meeting various other people along the way including Jon Taverner, John Tymon and two other very nice birders whose names I don't know.  I spent a good half hour with Jon trying to photograph the elusive Redwing which were eating berries in several locations - I did manage to get some shots, but their quality isn't that great.

A Closer View

A kestrel also flew over as we waited patiently for the Redwing.

Kestrel hunting for food

Bidding farewell to Jon, I moved on to Teal Hide down a wooded path I haven't tried before.  It was clear from some of the holes in the trees that Woodpeckers feed in this area.  At Teal Hide my first encounter was with a Robin that just had to be photographed.

Please take my picture !

And then I concentrated on the drake Goosander which had been forced closer t the hide than usual due to the high water levels.

Drake Goosander with duck behind

Drake Goosander in the water

I also had a fleeting glance of two Snipe which I only identified by looking at this photograph later.

Two Snipe flashed by

From here I went to the feeding station at Bunting Hide to try to get some better pictures of the Nuthatch.  Instead I got some more of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker and Reed Bunting as the Nuthatch wouldn't keep still for long enough.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Reed Bunting

I finished off a very pleasant day by talking to John Tymon back at Horrock's Hide about cameras - he's sold all his unused camera gear and got a new hybrid camera toy to play with - naturally he was keen to tell me all about it.

In summary today I saw:

• Redwing
• Grey Wagtail
• Kestrel
• Goosander
• Cormorant
• Snipe
• Teal
• Gadwall
• Shoveller
• Tufted Duck
• Grey Heron
• Lapwing
• Greater Spotted Woodpecker
• Sparrowhawk
• Goldfinch
• Nuthatch
• Bullfinch
• Willow Tit
• Chaffinch
• Dunnock
• And various Gulls

I was also told that there was a Siskin present at the feeding station and although I heard it, I didn't actually see it.  One to look out for in the future.

Yep, we should have taken Grandad Bob to Penny to see the birds - I counted over 30 species here today compared to a rather paltry seven at Mere Sands Wood.

P.S. Thanks for the magazines Dave, they're much appreciated.