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| First January visit of the New Year |
I was not expecting my first visit of 2021 to be quite like this!
Unfortunately the Isle of Man is back to Corona Virus lockdown restrictions following an outbreak in the community after nearly 7 months of being Covid free. So instead of my usual leisurely stroll round the reserve doing a detailed survey and spending time in the bird hide, my visit on Friday took the form of my permitted exercise - a brisk two circuits in the sunshine and no visit to the hide. I had the reserve to myself so social distancing was not an issue and I was pleased to be able to drop down my mask as in the cold air my glasses steamed up completely when wearing it! Not being able to see properly and the icy conditions would potentially have been a disaster!
Here are the birds I noted as I walked round.
SC209694 Blackbird; Great Tit; Goldcrest in neighbouring fir trees.
SC208694 Dunnock seen twice in different locations
SC208695 3 x Goldfinch together; small flock of 7 Long Tailed Tits flying from bush to bush; 2 x Great Tit; male and female Chaffinch together in sycamore tree;
SC209695 Robin
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| Ice on the puddles |
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| Frost on the boardwalk |
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| I didn't go in the hide but peeped over the fence |
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| Wintry vegetation |
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| Chaffinch in the sunshine |
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| Goldfinch in the same tree - goldfinches always wear masks! |
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| view from the hide ramp |
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| sun on the reed bed |
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| blue skies lift the spirits |
Unfortunately I shall only be able to submit brief incidental reports like this one until February at the earliest, but fresh air and exercise do make a difference to both physical and mental welfare at times like this.
And finally.............
Saturday 9th January should have been our first work party of 2021 but the Covid Lockdown has put paid to volunteering for the time being. We need to keep our volunteers safe and I'm sure the jobs won't go away in our absence!
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| furloughed barrows! |
Please click on photos to enlarge them
