Minwear Wood and Landshipping areas

Bird-feeders at the Minwear picnic site (not sure who manages them, but well done for keeping them going) have been providing many of the woodland birds with much needed extra sustenance this week. Fat etc inserted into the tree bark has been popular with many. These include long-tailed tits who, like other small birds, must be having quite a hard time at the moment.

Redwing and fleldfare numbers in the Minwear to Martletwy/Landshipping area appear to have been increasing this week. Redwings in particular were feeding with numerous blackbirds in glades and on the woodland edge near the picnic site. 

Down at Landshipping, as flurries of snow commenced late in the afternoon, the probable regular great-crested grebe was feeding close to the road in a more sheltered channel. Not far away some 50 or so dunlin were feeding out on the mud. Many of the fairly numerous lapwings appeared to be gaining some protection from the bitterly cold wind by sheltering behind and within various clumps of wrack.