Sorry ,I should of done this on Sunday and time seems to have run away from me . So willow and I were out on Saturday and it was still pretty cold with a slight frost. Overall the patch was still pretty quiet and I failed to add to the species list.
Winter Thrush made up the bulk of the sightings with 27 plus Blackbird seen ,its been a great winter for this species .Redwing chipped in with 44 and Fieldfares numbered 34 . Both numbers lower than normal ,but the birds roam over the area so sometimes they will be elsewhere feeding . I could only find 1 Mistle Thrush ,but there must be more around in the vicinity.
On the pastures a healthy 8 Stock Dove fed on the pastureland and a cracking count of 44 plus Skylarks were seen including a flock of 30 overhead. That's a good count for this time of year, again I think these birds range over the area during the winter time.
There were lower numbers of Meadow Pipits today with 16 seen today .They are feeding in the top fields at the moment. Just a single Pied Wagtail kept them company.
In the hedges a superb Male Bullfinch was seen , stunning in the winter light.
The best of the rest were 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Buzzard and 2 Jay.
Sunday at first appeared to be milder but there was a cold wind so in the end I felt colder than Saturday by the time I had finished the walk.
It was a case of more of the same really with some species in greater numbers other less so. The Thrush family were scattered over the patch today with 20 plus Blackbird, 65 plus Fieldfare ,125 plus Redwing (much higher than yesterday), 8 plus Song Thrush and 4 Mistle Thrush .
It was nice to see 11 lapwing on the patch with 10 flying straight over and 1 dropping briefly onto pasture .I love them , really great birds.
I did manage to find a new species for they ear on the patch in the form of 9 Greylag Geese which passed towards the river meadows .This takes us to 49 species for this little patch of England. What will be the 50th species this year.
A early sign of spring came in the form of a drumming Greater Spotted Woodpecker, with another 2 been seen as well, the other member of the Woodpecker family that we regularly see here chipped in with a Green Woodpecker calling in the distance.
On the pastures there were less Skylarks today only 6 seen today, but one was singing (something was in air) but on the up side a cracking count of 64 plus Meadow Pipits were in the top fields. Again there was only a single Pied Wagtail to keep them company.
On the raptor front a female Kestrel was seen being mobbed by the local Jackdaws. The Stock Dove count was down with 6 seen today.
The best of the rest were 2 Buzzard, 2 Bullfinch, and a single Jay.
Wednesday 28 January 2015
Friday 23 January 2015
Sneaky Peak
As I was going away with work on Wednesday I managed a quick sneaky peak on the patch on Wednesday morning and to be fair it turned out to be a good idea,
There was nothing new for the year but there were a fair few birds around and maybe a hint of a few birds perhaps beginning to filter northwards .
It was a fairly mild morning after a frost with some cloud warming the proceedings up a little bit .Winter Thrush were about and a good number of Redwing were on the thawing pastures with 125 plus and 26 plus Fieldfare with them. Both species of birds are at their best right now as they begin to smarten up for the breeding season in Northern Europe. Blackbirds seemed to be everywhere with 32 plus been seen ,its been a great winter for this species this year. Sometimes up to seven birds are on the lawn at the cottage feeding near the feeders. 2 Mistle Thrush and 6 Song Thrush made up the Thrush species .
Starlings were in amongst the winter Thrush and a nice count of 225 plus were seen .They will soon start to disappear back to their breeding grounds soon as well ,although we will be left with a few breeding birds for the summer.
On the pastures a good count of 13 Stock Dove fed on the rough pasture and they were kept company by 7 Skylark and a cracking count of at least 88 plus Meadow pipits , are the latter wintering birds or the start of the very earliest spring returnees ? Whatever that's a good count for this time if year.
Just a few Pied Wagtails were seen with just 3 ,they all seemed to have disappeared after a few decent numbers.
With the Bunting and Finch fest happening nearby I tried to join the party, but for all my efforts I could only manage to come up with a mixed Finch flock (first so far of the winter) which consisted of 30 plus Goldfinch ,20 plus Chaffinch and 6 Green finch .I will give it another go on Saturday morning. A couple of Bullfinch flew over with both male and female been seen, really top birds .
Overhead the first Raven for a while gronked its way over 4 Buzzards were floating about. The by now regular wintering female Kestrel cruised over ,looking for a lunch time snack.
The best of the rest were a garden Jay and a calling Green Woodpecker.
Although the garden feeders have been busy ,nothing different has been seen although good numbers of Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits have been busy feeding on the fat balls and Sunflower and bird food .
Saturday awaits
There was nothing new for the year but there were a fair few birds around and maybe a hint of a few birds perhaps beginning to filter northwards .
It was a fairly mild morning after a frost with some cloud warming the proceedings up a little bit .Winter Thrush were about and a good number of Redwing were on the thawing pastures with 125 plus and 26 plus Fieldfare with them. Both species of birds are at their best right now as they begin to smarten up for the breeding season in Northern Europe. Blackbirds seemed to be everywhere with 32 plus been seen ,its been a great winter for this species this year. Sometimes up to seven birds are on the lawn at the cottage feeding near the feeders. 2 Mistle Thrush and 6 Song Thrush made up the Thrush species .
Starlings were in amongst the winter Thrush and a nice count of 225 plus were seen .They will soon start to disappear back to their breeding grounds soon as well ,although we will be left with a few breeding birds for the summer.
On the pastures a good count of 13 Stock Dove fed on the rough pasture and they were kept company by 7 Skylark and a cracking count of at least 88 plus Meadow pipits , are the latter wintering birds or the start of the very earliest spring returnees ? Whatever that's a good count for this time if year.
Just a few Pied Wagtails were seen with just 3 ,they all seemed to have disappeared after a few decent numbers.
With the Bunting and Finch fest happening nearby I tried to join the party, but for all my efforts I could only manage to come up with a mixed Finch flock (first so far of the winter) which consisted of 30 plus Goldfinch ,20 plus Chaffinch and 6 Green finch .I will give it another go on Saturday morning. A couple of Bullfinch flew over with both male and female been seen, really top birds .
Overhead the first Raven for a while gronked its way over 4 Buzzards were floating about. The by now regular wintering female Kestrel cruised over ,looking for a lunch time snack.
The best of the rest were a garden Jay and a calling Green Woodpecker.
Although the garden feeders have been busy ,nothing different has been seen although good numbers of Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits have been busy feeding on the fat balls and Sunflower and bird food .
Saturday awaits
Sunday 18 January 2015
The week that was
Well winter sort of arrived the last week ,with frosts , cold winds and even a light dusting of snow on Tuesday. In the brief visits in the week I managed to see another 3 new species for the patch in the form of Pied wagtail , a flyover Grey Heron which was heading towards the river meadows. The 3rd species however was quite a good bird for the patch and only the third record for hereabouts. It came in the form of a Little Egret that passed over southwards in between some fairly heavy hail and snow showers .
After a rather pleasant and easy visit to Ashleworth Ham on Saturday afternoon where there were birds aplenty and having heard of a Finch fest on a fellow birders neighbouring patch (Hartpury Orchard Centre blog ,where Steve French is really beginning to see this young patch really starting to blossom ) which included flocks of 80 plus Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings I was really keen to see if the colder weather had brought anything different to my little piece of no where .
So with that in mind Willow and I were out at first light , it got off to a good with 7 Blackbird s feeding on the front lawn of the cottage but in the end we ended up with the usual count of 19 plus .
Other winter Thrush on the patch were 7 Song Thrush , 2 Mistle Thrush a lower count of 25 plus Redwing and a nice count of 146 plus Fieldfares. In amongst the Thrush were around 300 plus Starlings many will have come from the same areas of Russia and Scandanavia to spend the winter with their Thrush neighbours .
The pastures were quite frozen and as a result I could only find 5 Meadow Pipits this morning .After a quite start however 13 plus Skylarks made themselves noticed . Whilst on the pastures species 48 for the year leapt up in the form of 4 Red Legged Partridge. It was also nice to see a small flock of 20 Gulls on the sheep pastures ,even with just 20 birds there were 3 species with Herring, Common and Lesser Black Backed all feeding together.
In the hedges my only contribution to the Finch fest was a small flock of 5 Greenfinch, pathetic really . But that aside a Bullfinch was heard thereby keeping my Bullfinch fan smiling . There are still Jays wintering with us and one was seen flying over a hedgerow , its been nice to report that one has been in the cottage garden recently .
The good run on Stock Doves keeps going with 10 plus today ,and some were even starting to display , a very early sign of Spring.
It was not only Stock Doves that feel the upcoming Spring, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker was drumming this morning .I have the feeling they are being a tad optimistic just yet .The other member of the woodpecker family we see here was in fine voice with 2 Green Woodpeckers yaffling , its a great call to hear ,its really reminds me of this area. Even the local Football club has this bird on their badge.
The only other birds of note were 3 Buzzard and a flyover Cormorant which was heading westwards.
So the species count for the patch this year so far now stands at 48.
If the birding gods are listening and would like to get the new year off to a belting start and therefore would like to deal a winter special please "Give it to me now " .
Heres hoping
After a rather pleasant and easy visit to Ashleworth Ham on Saturday afternoon where there were birds aplenty and having heard of a Finch fest on a fellow birders neighbouring patch (Hartpury Orchard Centre blog ,where Steve French is really beginning to see this young patch really starting to blossom ) which included flocks of 80 plus Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings I was really keen to see if the colder weather had brought anything different to my little piece of no where .
So with that in mind Willow and I were out at first light , it got off to a good with 7 Blackbird s feeding on the front lawn of the cottage but in the end we ended up with the usual count of 19 plus .
Other winter Thrush on the patch were 7 Song Thrush , 2 Mistle Thrush a lower count of 25 plus Redwing and a nice count of 146 plus Fieldfares. In amongst the Thrush were around 300 plus Starlings many will have come from the same areas of Russia and Scandanavia to spend the winter with their Thrush neighbours .
The pastures were quite frozen and as a result I could only find 5 Meadow Pipits this morning .After a quite start however 13 plus Skylarks made themselves noticed . Whilst on the pastures species 48 for the year leapt up in the form of 4 Red Legged Partridge. It was also nice to see a small flock of 20 Gulls on the sheep pastures ,even with just 20 birds there were 3 species with Herring, Common and Lesser Black Backed all feeding together.
In the hedges my only contribution to the Finch fest was a small flock of 5 Greenfinch, pathetic really . But that aside a Bullfinch was heard thereby keeping my Bullfinch fan smiling . There are still Jays wintering with us and one was seen flying over a hedgerow , its been nice to report that one has been in the cottage garden recently .
The good run on Stock Doves keeps going with 10 plus today ,and some were even starting to display , a very early sign of Spring.
It was not only Stock Doves that feel the upcoming Spring, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker was drumming this morning .I have the feeling they are being a tad optimistic just yet .The other member of the woodpecker family we see here was in fine voice with 2 Green Woodpeckers yaffling , its a great call to hear ,its really reminds me of this area. Even the local Football club has this bird on their badge.
The only other birds of note were 3 Buzzard and a flyover Cormorant which was heading westwards.
So the species count for the patch this year so far now stands at 48.
If the birding gods are listening and would like to get the new year off to a belting start and therefore would like to deal a winter special please "Give it to me now " .
Heres hoping
Sunday 11 January 2015
The first proper week
So the first proper week and to be honest we have managed to bump up this years species a fair bit . Between Monday and Tuesday without leaving the cottage I managed to add Tawny Owl with one calling from next doors Orchard, a superb male Blackcap which was the hedge next to the bedroom window and a pair of Collared Dove which visited the garden .
I managed a brief visit to the patch on Wednesday and the real high light was the large number of winter Thrush around with large flocks of both Fieldfares with 340 plus and Redwings with 220 plus feeding on pastures .They were backed up by 15 plus Blackbird and a small number of Song Thrush.
There was also a nice flock of 30 plus Goldfinch that went over and a large flock of over 200 plus Jackdaw feeding on the top fields.
The back up cast of goodies were just 5 Skylark ,21 plus Meadow Pipit and a decent count of 9 Stock Dove .
So eager to push our species list ever forward Willow and I hit the patch at around 9am . There had been a very slight frost with the previous days wind and rain having moved on and its fair to say that there was a biting north westerly wind ,it certainly woke you up .
It was a fairly standard walk but we managed to add another 4 new species for the year ,so we are ticking along quite nicely.
Winter Thrush were still about if in lesser numbers with still 104 plus Fieldfare and 76 plus Redwing ,most were feeding on the pastures as they have demolished the local berry supply now. a single Mistle Thrush called as it passed over and the now standard number of 14 plus Blackbirds exploded from the hedges and other bits of cover.
On the pastures itself a good count of at least 40 plus Skylarks were about ,but as is the case if one species goes up the other usually drops ,and this was the case with just 6 plus Meadow pipits today. Stock Dove kept their end up so to speak with 8 over the patch today.
Overhead I managed to add a number of new species for the year with Black Headed Gull, 2 Canada Geese , and rather lonely looking Lapwing which passed over towards Ashleworth Ham .I have read there are large flocks of them just down the road ( 1800 was the latest count) ,I wish they would drop onto the patch.
The woodpecker family put on a good show with 2 Green Woodpeckers and 3 Greater Spotted seen today.
The female Bullfinch was in her usual place ,always giving herself away with her soft pewing calling, they really are such lovely birds.
On the raptor front this morning a distant soaring SparrowHawk was a first of the year for the patch. It was complimented by a female Kestrel which was hunting over one of the fields ,oddly enough I did not see a Buzzard today ,which is very unusual.
2 Jay flew over, one heading north ,its the first time they have wintered on the patch since I have been here .
The Starling flock numbered 160 plus today .
So after the 11 days the species list jumps to 44 , almost half way to my target of 90. It will of course get harder as the year moves on , gotta keep those eyes peeled.
I managed a brief visit to the patch on Wednesday and the real high light was the large number of winter Thrush around with large flocks of both Fieldfares with 340 plus and Redwings with 220 plus feeding on pastures .They were backed up by 15 plus Blackbird and a small number of Song Thrush.
There was also a nice flock of 30 plus Goldfinch that went over and a large flock of over 200 plus Jackdaw feeding on the top fields.
The back up cast of goodies were just 5 Skylark ,21 plus Meadow Pipit and a decent count of 9 Stock Dove .
So eager to push our species list ever forward Willow and I hit the patch at around 9am . There had been a very slight frost with the previous days wind and rain having moved on and its fair to say that there was a biting north westerly wind ,it certainly woke you up .
It was a fairly standard walk but we managed to add another 4 new species for the year ,so we are ticking along quite nicely.
Winter Thrush were still about if in lesser numbers with still 104 plus Fieldfare and 76 plus Redwing ,most were feeding on the pastures as they have demolished the local berry supply now. a single Mistle Thrush called as it passed over and the now standard number of 14 plus Blackbirds exploded from the hedges and other bits of cover.
On the pastures itself a good count of at least 40 plus Skylarks were about ,but as is the case if one species goes up the other usually drops ,and this was the case with just 6 plus Meadow pipits today. Stock Dove kept their end up so to speak with 8 over the patch today.
Overhead I managed to add a number of new species for the year with Black Headed Gull, 2 Canada Geese , and rather lonely looking Lapwing which passed over towards Ashleworth Ham .I have read there are large flocks of them just down the road ( 1800 was the latest count) ,I wish they would drop onto the patch.
The woodpecker family put on a good show with 2 Green Woodpeckers and 3 Greater Spotted seen today.
The female Bullfinch was in her usual place ,always giving herself away with her soft pewing calling, they really are such lovely birds.
On the raptor front this morning a distant soaring SparrowHawk was a first of the year for the patch. It was complimented by a female Kestrel which was hunting over one of the fields ,oddly enough I did not see a Buzzard today ,which is very unusual.
2 Jay flew over, one heading north ,its the first time they have wintered on the patch since I have been here .
The Starling flock numbered 160 plus today .
So after the 11 days the species list jumps to 44 , almost half way to my target of 90. It will of course get harder as the year moves on , gotta keep those eyes peeled.
Friday 2 January 2015
2015 off an running
So 2nd of January and Willow hot footed onto the patch to get the year off to a flying start. It was very mild again but with a chilly NW breeze ( you get the drift ,warmer than you would expect ). So this blog I will list all the species seen today as some this will be the only mention they get this year and as we see others I will mention and update the total for the year .So the bird species seen today on the patch were ,
1. Blackbird (18 plus seen today )
2. Carrion Crow
3. Jackdaw
4.Blue Tit
5.Chaffinch
6. Starling
7. Robin
8.Wood Pigeon
9. Buzzard
10.Herring Gull
11.Fieldfare ( 180 plus seen today)
12. Meadow Pipit (53 plus seen today, that's a good count for this bird in January )
13. Stock Dove
14. Raven (1 over)
15. Green finch
16. Redwing ( 100 plus seen today)
17. Lesser Black Backed Gull
18. Magpie
19. Common Gull
20. Rook
21.Pheasent
22.Dunnock
23. Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
24.Bullfinch
25. Goldfinch
26.Great Tit
27. House Sparrow.
28.Song Thrush
29.Mistle Thrush
30.Green Woodpecker
31.Long Tailed Tit
32.Jay
33.Cormorant (1 seen heading downriver)
34.Wren
35.Linnet (just 1 seen today)
36.Skylark (12 plus on pastures today)
37.Kestrel (1 hunting over patch this morning)
38.Pied Wagtail (5 seen on top fields this morning .
Overall a quiet walk with the winter Thrush , Meadow Pipits and Skylarks making up the limited high lights .
So lets get it on 2015 ,I really want to get to 90 species this year ! Happy New Year to all my readers (well if there are any )
1. Blackbird (18 plus seen today )
2. Carrion Crow
3. Jackdaw
4.Blue Tit
5.Chaffinch
6. Starling
7. Robin
8.Wood Pigeon
9. Buzzard
10.Herring Gull
11.Fieldfare ( 180 plus seen today)
12. Meadow Pipit (53 plus seen today, that's a good count for this bird in January )
13. Stock Dove
14. Raven (1 over)
15. Green finch
16. Redwing ( 100 plus seen today)
17. Lesser Black Backed Gull
18. Magpie
19. Common Gull
20. Rook
21.Pheasent
22.Dunnock
23. Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
24.Bullfinch
25. Goldfinch
26.Great Tit
27. House Sparrow.
28.Song Thrush
29.Mistle Thrush
30.Green Woodpecker
31.Long Tailed Tit
32.Jay
33.Cormorant (1 seen heading downriver)
34.Wren
35.Linnet (just 1 seen today)
36.Skylark (12 plus on pastures today)
37.Kestrel (1 hunting over patch this morning)
38.Pied Wagtail (5 seen on top fields this morning .
Overall a quiet walk with the winter Thrush , Meadow Pipits and Skylarks making up the limited high lights .
So lets get it on 2015 ,I really want to get to 90 species this year ! Happy New Year to all my readers (well if there are any )
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