Winter migrants

At this time of year many species of bird will migrate to Britain from Scandinavia, Greenland, Iceland, and eastern Europe to avoid the harsh winters of these territories. Winter migrants are attracted to Britain by our mild winters which bring more opportunities to find food. Although our last two winters have been particularly severe it still pays to make the journey because the weather from where they have travelled will be even worse.

 Male goldeneye © Shared Earth Photography

There are many species of wildfowl which are winter migrants and so a trip to your local lake at this time of year can reward you with sights of more unusual birds. I spent yesterday afternoon doing just that and arrived to find the majority of the lake was frozen. These conditions had forced all the wildfowl towards the busy end of the lake where people feed the ducks and I was rewarded with some close views of winter migrants. Amongst the mallards and other regulars were goldeneye and a wigeon, a species of duck which I've never seen at this lake before. There were also more unusual species of seagull which had been drawn inland such as a lesser black backed gull that dwarfed the resident black headed gulls.

 Female goldeneye © Shared Earth Photography

So the next time you visit your local lake or pond to feed the ducks keep an eye out for any unfamiliar birds because the chances are that they are a migrant.