Swan eating Fish !!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats a SWAN eating a fish and not a FISH eating a swan.

just shows how slow it is for me when I have to use the tactics of the Sun to add a little interest to my post!!!!!

Just to catch up before the end of the year I paid another visit to the harbour at Blyth this Mute Swan is feeding on a very large flat fish ,the large shape just under the water ,it never ceases to amaze me what is discarded into the river for one reason or another .

The Iceland Gull still present though it spent all of the time on the jetty that now has no access, still a few gulls around as the boats clean down for the holidays but for some reason I do not have any photos of them ,must not have been doing much .

I ventured to Holywell Pond one day but alas could not get the door open as it had swollen so much and it does not have a handle to help open it ,so I just checked the small area of open water looking through the few gulls assembled.

I must admit I am totally mixed up with the days .not sure what day I went where, but a nice bright sunny day and I went as far as Cresswell Pond very slippy underfoot I pulled off the road to check some Pipits but could not even get out the car it was so icy .The pool at QE11 park had some free water and a channel through to the other end holding numerous duck including a few Goldeneye plenty of Common & Black headed, Cresswell seemed to have a lot of Song Thrush around in the cattle fields was the first thing I noticed, feeding on snails I found an anvil with a pile of broken shells scattered around, a huge flock of geese though well in the distance, and near the farm Golden Plover feeding in the field next to the track, a walk to the beach but even this was not easy , still feel the effects of my fall last winter and was not wanting more of the same , only a few Sanderling along the shore ,back at Cresswell I just hung around the car park in the hope of the Barn Owl but it was not to be ,only a single Kestrel on the wires and as the pond was frozen I did not even check it out ,but was told the Bittern had been flushed from in front of the hide early am.

Stopped at several locations on the way back looking along the dunes for Snow Buntings ,the flash at Lynemouth is looking well filled again although frozen , it would be worth a look at .

What a very quiet time with the New Year looming I am not making any plans to go out on the 1st, I think my race to improve my list for 2010 will be of the tortoise variety ,slow and steady
Thats a large fish by any standard, no idea why they have to be thrown away
QE11 lake frozen at the car park end , I walked part way around but the path was just thick ice.
Always plenty of Common Gulls here


Tufted Duck in with the Coots coming right to the edge ,smart looking ducks when the light gets on them !!


The waters edge was very picturesque with the glistening water but I could not capture it
Golden Plovers well scattered in the field by the car park and track