Birding in Beds

This weekend I decided to keep birding in Beds and spent time at East Hyde, Broom, Stotfold and Arlesey.

East Hyde:

the firecrest was obviously feeling the cold and did what both Ed and I wanted to do - stay in bed!!
a heron was a hundred times more showy (Identical photo to Ed's!):Broom:

whooper swan was still present:A pipit sculking around the waters edge got me excited but turned out to be a mipit - a very friendly one though:Also friendly there was a mute swan:Stotfold:

the corn bunts are still there in large numbers:but there is one bush in particular that is great for photographing reed buntings and I intend to go back there earlier in the day some time:
Today I took a walk down the river in Arlesey and produced a few local goodies;

5 common buzzards were nice to see soaring and calling to one another above Arlesey.

there are still plenty of snipe in the flooded fields, I saw 10+. Here is the best I managed in the way of photos though as they are very wary:A little egret was frequenting the area and seemed to pop a few times.

The resident grey wagtail didn't fail to impress as it hovered over the water catching flies. I think that action shot is one I will try and capture; it's going to be hard though. here are 2 AWFUL photos for now though:In the alders along the river a large flock of goldfinches concealed a single lesser redpoll. You're going to have to trust me, this is a redpoll:A wren was copying the wagtail as it caught gants over the river, always returning the the shade though!...bird of the day was a semi-confiding water rail (I did see 2 though which was great):It always remained secluded and in the shade though and ran off when I tried to get closer but I had great views of it scratching about in the reed from a distance.

After calling mum to put the oven on I made a swift return to the car but not without takng a few pics of a pair of blackbirds that were frantically squarking at me:
There was a real feel of the begining of spring in the air; lots of bird song, whirlygig beetles and other insects and not to mention I was cooking in a coat!

Daniel