Unknown birds

The unusual weather is causing some more unusual birds to turn up. Disgruntled saw the following little brown thing today - it is sparrow sized, but not a sparrow - wrong beak type. Not a dunnock either - wrong plumage. Any ideas?



Likewise on the reserve (and the ducks are hungry - the cold weather is keeping people away, and they got through two loaves of bread today. If Tesco is selling off any old bread at 5p a loaf as they sometimes do, buy it and go and feed them!), the following two unknown ducks were seen:







They dabble, and Disgruntled thought that they might be female shovellers, but the plumage is wrong. Any ideas?

Definitely winter again

Definitely winter again - flocks of redwings and fieldfares have turned up in numbers over the course of the week. The hard winter is having an effect on the reserve, with the lake largely freezing over. The ducks have kept part of it open as they are forced to congregate in one area.

Wildlife in the Three Brooks Reserve

View Wildlife in Bradley Stoke - 19:25 to 20:05 on the 19th July 2009 in a larger map

The stormy weather meant that it was quiet in the reserve last night, as shown in the map above (click on the coloured icons in the map to see which birds were about - there is a different icon per bird).


This mute swan joined in with the ducks feeding on bread brought by vistors.

The ducks.....

The mallards were joined by a pair of farmyard ducks.

This plucky little youngster was in amongst the larger adults going for the bread, and would often dive in front of the older birds to get there first. He didn't show much fear or respect for his elders!

This duck family was asleep near one of the viewing platform areas, with the adult standing guard and keeping watch.

Thistles are coming to the end of their flowering all over the reserve. Here, one is being fed on by a bee type insect.