So this morning was the last chance to see if we could add to our species list for the year. Willow and I hit the patch at 9am ,my mouth infection was still horrible and still made me feel crap .
The early frost was thawing and the wind was picking up with the milder temps that were forecast arriving on time.
Winter Thrush were plentiful around the patch with 118 plus Redwing and 40 plus Fieldfare feeding on the thawing pasture land . Blackbirds were still around in numbers with 19 plus seen today on the hedges and in the fields . Just 2 Mistle Thrush were seen today and there were fewer Song Thrush than of late.
On the pastures there were 16 plus Meadow Pipits with 5 Pied Wagtails feeding on the top fields ,along side these two were a nice number of Skylarks with 16 plus about this morning.
The Starling numbers on the patch still rise with up to 400 plus seen today. A really nice bonus for this morning were a small party of 3 Lapwing which fed on one of the top stubble fields .They were probably forced onto the pasture by the fact the river meadows had frozen over night .We usually see more as the winter changes to Spring with birds pausing briefly on there way north, if we lucky there are sometimes some Golden Plover as well .
In the hedges were a Jay, and 3 very smart looking Bullfinch ,the male looking superb in the morning sun light . I could only muster a single Stock Dove today ,the rest seem to have disappeared.
The final birds of note for the walk were a small party of 6 Greylag Geese which headed towards the river.
On the raptor front were 2 Buzzard and a hunting male Kestrel.
So we end on 87 species for the year, 2 up from last year .Its only a small patch of nothing and that's why its great to see what passes through on its journey from or to who knows where . There have been plenty of high lights this year of course the Osprey in April must jump out but my favourite memory for the last year is when a holidaying birder from London asked if he could visit the patch .He had never seen a Redstart and that time we seem to be in a rich vain of form as far as these birds were concerned ,we eventually found a female but it was hard work and we had been tripping over them for the previous weeks , it was great to give this birder a lifer and it will stay with him forever as his first Redstart. On the same walk we saw the first 3 Meadow Pipits of the Autumn and that was the same buzz for me ,the signal that the Autumn migration had started .
So thank you to all the birds that let me spot you as you passed through ,to the ones I missed I will get you next time, thank you to all you guys who have read this inane dribble and stayed the course ,you may have discovered the cure for insomnia .
If I have inspired you to leave a little space in your hectic life for some wildlife (not sex ,drugs and rock n roll ) then get out there and see what you might spot ,you will be surprised what you might find .I wish you all a Happy New Year and thanks for reading Tirley Twittering.
The new year beckons and I wonder what we will see this year ?
