Looks like 50 birds! Highlight was a feeder which was attracting Brambling, Linnet, Bullfinch, Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow along with the usual commoner Tits and Finches - Reed Bunting, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Long-tailed Tit.! Could this be the only place in Northern England attracting such an eclectic mix of summer/winter and woodland/farmland finches/buntings. They were seen at the Tree Sparrow Farm.
The Smew was my second ever. First was at Deans Clough Reservoir just north of Blackburn February 2012. This bird is a young male slowly moulting into adult plumage. The reserve is quite a good one to visit with Bitterns successfully breeding for the first time in South Yorkshire for a long time! It attracts quite a lot of unusual species.
-- Edited by sarfraz on Thursday 21st of February 2013 10:55:54 PM
