Its been two weeks since I updated the blog so sorry for the break in proceedings, life gets in the way sometimes ! .Last week was notable for just 3 things the lack of migrants in comparison to elsewhere, the addition of the 59 th species of the year for the patch in the form of a stunning male Yellowhammer and cracking view of a Little Owl in the daytime. I have to also confess that I have succumbed to the delights of Ashleworth Ham with its Garganey ,Cranes Swallows and Sand Martins. Its sometimes nice to have a little bit of east birding as patch birding can sometimes be soul destroying (its also worth mentioning that I missed a Great Grey Shrike at Ashleworth as I was working ).
So Saturday was a different kettle of fish after a warm dry week with blustery showers a gusty wind and a cooler feel to than of late. As we finished our walk the weather was in a better frame of mind.
Willow and I were out to find some summer migrants this morning as everywhere appeared to have been awash with birds this past week.
A good search of the hedges and bushes did find a slight increase in Chiffchaffs with 7 today and the best bird for me today was the first singing Willow Warbler of the year. Number 60 in the bag for the year. A surprise was the lack of Blackcaps they seem to late in arriving on the patch this year and so far we have had just a couple of birds pass through .
There did seem to be a bit of overhead passage and the first Linnets for months passed over with 25 plus this morning ,a flock of 20 was nice to see. A small number of Meadow Pipits were on the deck with 6 this morning and its always a special moment when the first Swallows appear on the patch with 2 zooming through northwards .( 61 species ticked). .
On the pastures 10 Stock Doves were dotted about and at least 8 plus Skylarks were in fine voice. Its nice to report a Mistle Thrush at this time of year so maybe we have a pair in the vicinity or it could of been a migrant bird.
A Red Legged Partridge was heard but not seen and a Jay was seen near to the cottage. There were also a unruly gang of around 30 plus Lesser Blacked Backed and Herring Gulls on pastureland.
It was a good day on the raptor front with a female Kestrel, 2 Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk which was mobbed by the local Jackdaws.
The final birds of note were 2 Pied Wagtail at a nearby farm site
So we are at 61 species for the year so far and in the next couple of weeks we can hope for it the jump up a bit. Heres hoping
Saturday, 11 April 2015
Sunday, 29 March 2015
Spring Stalls as Winter hangs on
The last week on the patch has been very quiet with the main high light being a very brief singing Blackcap midweek , it has not been seen or heard of since so must of been in a hurry to carry on North. I had seen a couple in the winter so it may of been a departing bird or maybe an arriving summer migrant.
Apart from that a calling Tawny Owl was the only other real high light in a week short of any other summer migrants.
So when Willow and I hit the patch on Saturday we did not expect to find anything out of the ordinary .The weather was grey and breezy with the odd shower not very spring like at all !
The only Summer migrant that we are recording at the moment is small numbers of Chiffchaffs that are passing through at the moment. A bird seems to have set up territory in nexts doors orchard and as such is in fine voice. I managed to find 4 on Saturday including a bird in hedgerow after a sharp shower so maybe it was passing overhead and had been brought down by the rain .
The winter hangs on in the form of winter Thrush with a fine flock of 150 plus Fieldfare which have been feeding in the top fields , a single Redwing was heard passing over and a Mistle Thrush was in a tree near to the cottage. There appears to be plenty of singing Song Thrush around as well.
On the pastures 8 Stock Doves were seen and 5 Skylarks were singing their hearts out in the belief that spring must arrive soon.
The trickle of Pied Wagtails continues with 6 passing over. The best bird of Saturday was a very approachable Raven which seemed quite happy for Willow and I to stop and get a good luck .They really are massive when you see them on the ground .
The best of the rest (it was a poor morning were a Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 3 Buzzard.
With the clocks going forward and the start of British Summer time it was only normal for it to be smashing down with rain and a howling gale to be taking place.
I was pretty reluctant to go out but Willow can be pretty persistent and lays on the guilt trip so I was out the door by 8am.
It was more of the same fair really with a single Chiffchaff singing and plenty of resident bird song going.
Winter Thrush consisted of 92 plus Fieldfare and again a single Redwing. On the pastures were a good count of 10 plus Stock Dove and Skylarks kept on singing with 6 doing their best in the howling wind .
A small group of gulls consisted of 15 Lesser Black Backed, 5 Herring and 1 Common Gull feeding on sheep pasture. The only other birds of note on the fields were 4 Pied wagtails.
On the raptor font a single Buzzard was seen worming and a large female Sparrow Hawk put the fear of God into the local Blackbirds.
An unusual sound was that of a calling Moorhen ,confirmation that our birds seem to have returned for the summer .
The usual Green and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were noted. So a very quiet week ends and with the weather not looking good it might be the same this upcoming week.
The best birds of the week for me were 2 Common Crane which visited nearby Ashleworth Ham on Saturday evening .They were found by local birders Alan Hooper and Steve French aka The orchard Centre Crew , a good sighting and it was nice to chat to some local birders and just see whats going on the local bird scene Alan and Steve are building a nice list at a young site and you can find Steves blog if you visit the Gloster Birder site. Although not on the local patch it was hard to resist not going to see them .
Apart from that a calling Tawny Owl was the only other real high light in a week short of any other summer migrants.
So when Willow and I hit the patch on Saturday we did not expect to find anything out of the ordinary .The weather was grey and breezy with the odd shower not very spring like at all !
The only Summer migrant that we are recording at the moment is small numbers of Chiffchaffs that are passing through at the moment. A bird seems to have set up territory in nexts doors orchard and as such is in fine voice. I managed to find 4 on Saturday including a bird in hedgerow after a sharp shower so maybe it was passing overhead and had been brought down by the rain .
The winter hangs on in the form of winter Thrush with a fine flock of 150 plus Fieldfare which have been feeding in the top fields , a single Redwing was heard passing over and a Mistle Thrush was in a tree near to the cottage. There appears to be plenty of singing Song Thrush around as well.
On the pastures 8 Stock Doves were seen and 5 Skylarks were singing their hearts out in the belief that spring must arrive soon.
The trickle of Pied Wagtails continues with 6 passing over. The best bird of Saturday was a very approachable Raven which seemed quite happy for Willow and I to stop and get a good luck .They really are massive when you see them on the ground .
The best of the rest (it was a poor morning were a Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 3 Buzzard.
With the clocks going forward and the start of British Summer time it was only normal for it to be smashing down with rain and a howling gale to be taking place.
I was pretty reluctant to go out but Willow can be pretty persistent and lays on the guilt trip so I was out the door by 8am.
It was more of the same fair really with a single Chiffchaff singing and plenty of resident bird song going.
Winter Thrush consisted of 92 plus Fieldfare and again a single Redwing. On the pastures were a good count of 10 plus Stock Dove and Skylarks kept on singing with 6 doing their best in the howling wind .
A small group of gulls consisted of 15 Lesser Black Backed, 5 Herring and 1 Common Gull feeding on sheep pasture. The only other birds of note on the fields were 4 Pied wagtails.
On the raptor font a single Buzzard was seen worming and a large female Sparrow Hawk put the fear of God into the local Blackbirds.
An unusual sound was that of a calling Moorhen ,confirmation that our birds seem to have returned for the summer .
The usual Green and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were noted. So a very quiet week ends and with the weather not looking good it might be the same this upcoming week.
The best birds of the week for me were 2 Common Crane which visited nearby Ashleworth Ham on Saturday evening .They were found by local birders Alan Hooper and Steve French aka The orchard Centre Crew , a good sighting and it was nice to chat to some local birders and just see whats going on the local bird scene Alan and Steve are building a nice list at a young site and you can find Steves blog if you visit the Gloster Birder site. Although not on the local patch it was hard to resist not going to see them .
Sunday, 22 March 2015
Winters last /Summers first
The last week has seen a few birds move through the patch with winters birds overlapping the first of the spring migrants.
On Wednesday in a quick lunch time dash on only part of the patch I found the first 3 Chiffchaff of the year ( number 57 for the year ) along the magic hedgerow , they were feeding quietly all in the same bush ,one bird looked very grey but I am not brave enough to claim a Sibe , along side them was another migrant Gold crest .They were obviously newly arrived birds as they fed very close to where I was standing ,unconcerned about my presence. also seen on my dash was another Sparrowhawk which passed over and a good count of 11 Buzzards were up enjoying the conditions. Add to that a pair of displaying Ravens and it turned out to be a good little half an hour.
So when Saturday arrived Willow and I were out by 7.30am .We emerged into bright sunshine if not a little colder than of late.
The first bird to hit the radar was a calling Green Woodpecker but as usual we did not see it ,we did however see another later on in the walk .The other member of the woodpecker family we see here The Greater Spotted got into the act with 1 drumming bird and then a flyover pair .
Winter Thrush have still been passing through and after seeing small numbers of Redwings ( 1 to 5 birds), it was a surprise to find 28 plus birds including one flock of 21 that passed over due north. Fieldfares have been seen in just ones and twos of late so when I entered the top field s I was not expecting a large flock of 141 plus ! They have been in much lower numbers of late so these must be passing migrants.
Along side them were a nice number of 9 Skylarks many of which were singing . A small number of 7 Meadow Pipits passed over north.
From somewhere in the hedges called a Red Legged Partridge and a nice showing of 8 Stock Dove was nice. After a few days of double figure counts of Pied Wagtails it was back to earth on Saturday with just 2 seen .I have not found a White wagtail yet in amongst the smart Pied yet.
After the winters absence it was great to hear the song of 4 newly arrived Chiffchaffs ,they will increase over the next few weeks, although looking back they were 3 days later than last year.
On the raptor front a female Kestrel was seen getting a good kicking from the local Jackdaws and 3 Buzzards were up and about. Species number 58 then appeared on the radar when a Little Owl was heard calling from one of the old trees ,it must have had a bad night as it was calling at 8.45am.
A single Jay was seen flying strongly northwards. On the pastureland a good size flock of 30 plus Lesser Blacked Backed Gulls and 18 Herring Gulls were present.
So with a good Saturday in the bag it seemed only right that we would find our first Wheatear on a grey but milder Sunday morning , well we didn't and overall it seemed a fairly quiet and disappointing walk, but as usual the patch will always find a little something to keep you coming back.
The first part of the walk was pretty quiet with very little to report apart from the good numbers of Skylarks which were singing, I counted 8 in the end. There appeared to be a few more Pied wagtails passing this morning but we still only counted a total of 6 in the end.
On the pastures were a Red Legged Partridge ,a count of 11 Stock Dove which is almost usual now.
As I neared the old orchard an unfamiliar song rang out ,I knew from it somewhere and it proved that I was right in searching the old grey matter when I saw a Redwing in full song .I had heard when in Northern Finland a few summers ago. In the end I counted just 4 Redwing in total will they be the last until the Autumn ?
As I walked further on a single Meadow Pipit passed over northwards, but my attention was then drawn to a further flock of 30 plus which landed a ploughed field. They seemed to have dropped from on high as I had not even clocked them until they were almost above me.
From the nearby trees and hedges 2 Chiffchaff called there numbers down from yesterday ,no doubt the other birds had moved on.
Getting to the top fields I soon picked out a few Fieldfares but all of sudden they all erupted into the air and over 240 plus were counted along side 80 plus Starling ,at first I was annoyed with myself but suddenly realised it was not me that had put them to flight but a superb male Peregrine Falcon which screamed through the centre of the wheeling flock. Bloody fantastic !
The best of the rest were 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Buzzard.
So winter birds still linger with us and the first summer migrants are starting to arrive and we found 2 new species for the year although I think we may be a bit behind last year at his same point.
Things should start to quicken up in the next few weeks, so in the words of Shaw Taylor "keep em peeled".
On Wednesday in a quick lunch time dash on only part of the patch I found the first 3 Chiffchaff of the year ( number 57 for the year ) along the magic hedgerow , they were feeding quietly all in the same bush ,one bird looked very grey but I am not brave enough to claim a Sibe , along side them was another migrant Gold crest .They were obviously newly arrived birds as they fed very close to where I was standing ,unconcerned about my presence. also seen on my dash was another Sparrowhawk which passed over and a good count of 11 Buzzards were up enjoying the conditions. Add to that a pair of displaying Ravens and it turned out to be a good little half an hour.
So when Saturday arrived Willow and I were out by 7.30am .We emerged into bright sunshine if not a little colder than of late.
The first bird to hit the radar was a calling Green Woodpecker but as usual we did not see it ,we did however see another later on in the walk .The other member of the woodpecker family we see here The Greater Spotted got into the act with 1 drumming bird and then a flyover pair .
Winter Thrush have still been passing through and after seeing small numbers of Redwings ( 1 to 5 birds), it was a surprise to find 28 plus birds including one flock of 21 that passed over due north. Fieldfares have been seen in just ones and twos of late so when I entered the top field s I was not expecting a large flock of 141 plus ! They have been in much lower numbers of late so these must be passing migrants.
Along side them were a nice number of 9 Skylarks many of which were singing . A small number of 7 Meadow Pipits passed over north.
From somewhere in the hedges called a Red Legged Partridge and a nice showing of 8 Stock Dove was nice. After a few days of double figure counts of Pied Wagtails it was back to earth on Saturday with just 2 seen .I have not found a White wagtail yet in amongst the smart Pied yet.
After the winters absence it was great to hear the song of 4 newly arrived Chiffchaffs ,they will increase over the next few weeks, although looking back they were 3 days later than last year.
On the raptor front a female Kestrel was seen getting a good kicking from the local Jackdaws and 3 Buzzards were up and about. Species number 58 then appeared on the radar when a Little Owl was heard calling from one of the old trees ,it must have had a bad night as it was calling at 8.45am.
A single Jay was seen flying strongly northwards. On the pastureland a good size flock of 30 plus Lesser Blacked Backed Gulls and 18 Herring Gulls were present.
So with a good Saturday in the bag it seemed only right that we would find our first Wheatear on a grey but milder Sunday morning , well we didn't and overall it seemed a fairly quiet and disappointing walk, but as usual the patch will always find a little something to keep you coming back.
The first part of the walk was pretty quiet with very little to report apart from the good numbers of Skylarks which were singing, I counted 8 in the end. There appeared to be a few more Pied wagtails passing this morning but we still only counted a total of 6 in the end.
On the pastures were a Red Legged Partridge ,a count of 11 Stock Dove which is almost usual now.
As I neared the old orchard an unfamiliar song rang out ,I knew from it somewhere and it proved that I was right in searching the old grey matter when I saw a Redwing in full song .I had heard when in Northern Finland a few summers ago. In the end I counted just 4 Redwing in total will they be the last until the Autumn ?
As I walked further on a single Meadow Pipit passed over northwards, but my attention was then drawn to a further flock of 30 plus which landed a ploughed field. They seemed to have dropped from on high as I had not even clocked them until they were almost above me.
From the nearby trees and hedges 2 Chiffchaff called there numbers down from yesterday ,no doubt the other birds had moved on.
Getting to the top fields I soon picked out a few Fieldfares but all of sudden they all erupted into the air and over 240 plus were counted along side 80 plus Starling ,at first I was annoyed with myself but suddenly realised it was not me that had put them to flight but a superb male Peregrine Falcon which screamed through the centre of the wheeling flock. Bloody fantastic !
The best of the rest were 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Buzzard.
So winter birds still linger with us and the first summer migrants are starting to arrive and we found 2 new species for the year although I think we may be a bit behind last year at his same point.
Things should start to quicken up in the next few weeks, so in the words of Shaw Taylor "keep em peeled".
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Glad to be back
With 2 weeks being off the patch due to working abroad, Willow and I were out early by 6.30am . The weather was grey ,with cold north wind and the odd bout of drizzle .It was in stark contrast to the weather I had enjoyed when working in Holland.
I was hoping to pick up the first spring migrant but I failed in that quest but I did however manage to see a few birds on the move.
Overhead there was some movement with a good steady flow of Lesser Black Backed Gulls moving north ,some where in the region of 100 plus moved over along with smaller numbers of Herring , Black Headed and Common Gulls . Along side them were a good number of Starlings that headed north for about an hour just after 6,30am , some 850 plus were counted .Winter Thrush are still about with 50 Fieldfare which flew over due north and a further 20 plus were on the top fields. In sharp contrast were the small number of Redwings with just 4 seen this morning ,3 over north and a single bird in cover.
On the pasture land were up to 6 singing Skylarks , many have now left to their breeding grounds else where . In the top fields (which is looking good for Wheatears right now ), there was a mixed flock of 10 plus Pied Wagtails and 10 plus Meadow Pipits .
At last I have something to report from the hedgerows with the finding of 2 migrant Gold crest, I was hoping for an early Chiffchaff but it was a sign of some spring migrants moving ,it also brought the number of species seen this year to 55 .
Its pleasing to also report 3 Ravens around after a few weeks absence. As I walked along the edge of the top fields 2 birds leapt from the field edge and into a nearby hedgerow, getting my bins onto them brought me a cracking view of 2 male Reed Bunting ,with a good number seen on a fellow birders patch at Hartpury , it was nice to eventually borrow a couple. They are most likely birds moving to their breeding grounds elsewhere as they do not as far as I know breed on the patch . So in 2 brief moments two new species were added to the year list with Reed Bunting taking us to 56 .
We still seem to be hanging onto a few more Stock Doves than normal with 8 plus seen around the patch .There were some that were singing and displaying around the breeding areas.
On the Woodpecker front there were 3 drumming Greater Spotted and 1 plus calling Green Woodpecker although once again I never caught sight of it.
The best of the rest was a single Buzzard.
So the species list jumps to 56
I was hoping to pick up the first spring migrant but I failed in that quest but I did however manage to see a few birds on the move.
Overhead there was some movement with a good steady flow of Lesser Black Backed Gulls moving north ,some where in the region of 100 plus moved over along with smaller numbers of Herring , Black Headed and Common Gulls . Along side them were a good number of Starlings that headed north for about an hour just after 6,30am , some 850 plus were counted .Winter Thrush are still about with 50 Fieldfare which flew over due north and a further 20 plus were on the top fields. In sharp contrast were the small number of Redwings with just 4 seen this morning ,3 over north and a single bird in cover.
On the pasture land were up to 6 singing Skylarks , many have now left to their breeding grounds else where . In the top fields (which is looking good for Wheatears right now ), there was a mixed flock of 10 plus Pied Wagtails and 10 plus Meadow Pipits .
At last I have something to report from the hedgerows with the finding of 2 migrant Gold crest, I was hoping for an early Chiffchaff but it was a sign of some spring migrants moving ,it also brought the number of species seen this year to 55 .
Its pleasing to also report 3 Ravens around after a few weeks absence. As I walked along the edge of the top fields 2 birds leapt from the field edge and into a nearby hedgerow, getting my bins onto them brought me a cracking view of 2 male Reed Bunting ,with a good number seen on a fellow birders patch at Hartpury , it was nice to eventually borrow a couple. They are most likely birds moving to their breeding grounds elsewhere as they do not as far as I know breed on the patch . So in 2 brief moments two new species were added to the year list with Reed Bunting taking us to 56 .
We still seem to be hanging onto a few more Stock Doves than normal with 8 plus seen around the patch .There were some that were singing and displaying around the breeding areas.
On the Woodpecker front there were 3 drumming Greater Spotted and 1 plus calling Green Woodpecker although once again I never caught sight of it.
The best of the rest was a single Buzzard.
So the species list jumps to 56
Monday, 2 March 2015
SpringTwitch
The end of February and already into March and the first signs of Spring on the patch . Despite the weather which is more in the vain of winter with hail showers and heavy winds. When the sun does manage to shine there is however the faint glimmer of warmth in its rays.
The last week has been dominated by the passage of large numbers of Redwings and Fieldfares that have passed through the patch. They have been accompanied by a reasonable number of Starlings and three figure counts of all three species have been a regular feature of the week . The other bird of note in the week has been a couple of Sparrow hawks that have been seen.
It was not until Saturday afternoon that Willow and I got onto the patch and I did not expect any great shakes with the hour being a lot later than our usual jaunt time .
One of the first things I noticed was the large number of Stock Dove that were around the patch and a count of 34 was noted. They must in some part be early spring migrants as I also noted a small but steady north passage of Woodpigeons.
The winter Thrush bonanza continued with 105 plus Fieldfare and 55 plus Redwing .We now have more normal numbers of Blackbirds although I still managed at least 7 plus Song Thrush .
On the pasture were just 10 Skylark and with them just 11 Meadow Pipit ,there will be more of each as birds pass northwards in the near future.
The only other thing of note was 4 Cormorant which passed downriver and a scattering of Chaffinch (a flock of 20 ) and a flock of 12 Goldfinch which passed north west.
So we were up and at em on Sunday and Willow and I were on the patch by 7.30 am Sunday morning. It was a clear sunny morning , just perfect to be out and about on the patch .
First bird seen was one of the garden Jays feeding on the lawn ,a good start.
As we left the cottage 2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were drumming ,a good spring time sound . The other usual woodpecker species the Green called from somewhere in the distance. On the pastures there were at least 12 Skylark with up too 4 singing, a great sound and a perfect sign that for mother nature Spring is around the corner.
A nice flock of migrant Meadow Pipits were on the edge of the patch with a flock of 50 plus and another small flock of 5 elsewhere on the patch . They do not stay for long and its really amazing to see the turn over in numbers daily. Fieldfares were down with 60 plus but Redwings numbered at least 110 plus today. There were 8 plus Song Thrush with at least 5 singing.
Elsewhere a single Red Legged Partridge dived for cover as we approached and Stock Doves were still in higher than normal numbers with 15 plus.
The distant sound of a flock of 7 Canadian Geese brought my attention to 3 Mute Swans as they flew towards the fishing ponds that brought up the number of species to 53 for the year .
The small passage of spring time Pied Wagtails continues with 7 on the patch . The final bird of the day of note was again nothing rare but the sound of a Moorhen calling from one of the flooded ditches and close to where they bred last year was a sign of some of the patches summer visitors are arriving .It also was the 54th species for 2015. So although nothing startling was seen 2 new species for the year and a few signs of a change in the seasons.
The last week has been dominated by the passage of large numbers of Redwings and Fieldfares that have passed through the patch. They have been accompanied by a reasonable number of Starlings and three figure counts of all three species have been a regular feature of the week . The other bird of note in the week has been a couple of Sparrow hawks that have been seen.
It was not until Saturday afternoon that Willow and I got onto the patch and I did not expect any great shakes with the hour being a lot later than our usual jaunt time .
One of the first things I noticed was the large number of Stock Dove that were around the patch and a count of 34 was noted. They must in some part be early spring migrants as I also noted a small but steady north passage of Woodpigeons.
The winter Thrush bonanza continued with 105 plus Fieldfare and 55 plus Redwing .We now have more normal numbers of Blackbirds although I still managed at least 7 plus Song Thrush .
On the pasture were just 10 Skylark and with them just 11 Meadow Pipit ,there will be more of each as birds pass northwards in the near future.
The only other thing of note was 4 Cormorant which passed downriver and a scattering of Chaffinch (a flock of 20 ) and a flock of 12 Goldfinch which passed north west.
So we were up and at em on Sunday and Willow and I were on the patch by 7.30 am Sunday morning. It was a clear sunny morning , just perfect to be out and about on the patch .
First bird seen was one of the garden Jays feeding on the lawn ,a good start.
As we left the cottage 2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were drumming ,a good spring time sound . The other usual woodpecker species the Green called from somewhere in the distance. On the pastures there were at least 12 Skylark with up too 4 singing, a great sound and a perfect sign that for mother nature Spring is around the corner.
A nice flock of migrant Meadow Pipits were on the edge of the patch with a flock of 50 plus and another small flock of 5 elsewhere on the patch . They do not stay for long and its really amazing to see the turn over in numbers daily. Fieldfares were down with 60 plus but Redwings numbered at least 110 plus today. There were 8 plus Song Thrush with at least 5 singing.
Elsewhere a single Red Legged Partridge dived for cover as we approached and Stock Doves were still in higher than normal numbers with 15 plus.
The distant sound of a flock of 7 Canadian Geese brought my attention to 3 Mute Swans as they flew towards the fishing ponds that brought up the number of species to 53 for the year .
The small passage of spring time Pied Wagtails continues with 7 on the patch . The final bird of the day of note was again nothing rare but the sound of a Moorhen calling from one of the flooded ditches and close to where they bred last year was a sign of some of the patches summer visitors are arriving .It also was the 54th species for 2015. So although nothing startling was seen 2 new species for the year and a few signs of a change in the seasons.
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Peregrine pair
The last week brought our species total for the patch to 52 with a cracking pair of Peregrine Falcons that were stooping at the resident flock of feral doves that inhabit one of the local barns ,fantastic to watch and a great bird to see at any time of the year.
There have been a few signs of early spring with the first Linnet seen on Tuesday for quite awhile and a number of singing Skylark over the fields. The other feature has been the number of winter Thrush that have passed through the patch ,its usual as birds filter back North and Eastwards . Its the same with Starlings and numbers have been on the rise as a result.
So Sunday was the only day we could get out and Willow and I were out by 7.30am .There had been a frost ahead of the forecasted wet weather and it felt bone chilling whilst walking about.
The first bird seen was a Jay that has been visiting the garden of late and whilst out another one was heard , perhaps they have been there all along but just gone a bit quiet of late.
The whole patch was covered in Thrush this morning with at least 150 plus Redwing and 250 plus Fieldfares , they were bouncing all over the fields and hedges .The birds are looking really dapper as they prepare to leave for the north lands. The other bird that is keeping them company is the Starling with at least 800 plus on the patch this morning.
We still appear to have our winter Blackbirds in residence with 26 plus on the patch this morning.
Overhead a few bids passed over with a decent showing of Lapwings with 137 plus seen and a/some Golden Plover were heard but I could not manage to pick them up out of the big blue. A Cormorant passed heading due East , may be a departing winter visitor ?
On the pastures themselves a few Meadow Pipits are about ,but there were only 10 birds this morning, more will pass through as the spring proceeds. Skylarks numbered 10 plus today with at least 3 singing. Stock Dove are displaying and singing with 10 seen around their usual breeding areas.
The Wagtail passage still trickles through with at least 15 pus today, but I have yet to find a White in amongst them yet. The Woodpecker family got into the act with a Greater Spotted flying over and 1 plus Green calling from around the patch.
The other two species of note that passed over ,were a Raven carrying what looked like his breakfast and a Grey Heron which was heading north .
So the species list for this year stands at 52 .
There have been a few signs of early spring with the first Linnet seen on Tuesday for quite awhile and a number of singing Skylark over the fields. The other feature has been the number of winter Thrush that have passed through the patch ,its usual as birds filter back North and Eastwards . Its the same with Starlings and numbers have been on the rise as a result.
So Sunday was the only day we could get out and Willow and I were out by 7.30am .There had been a frost ahead of the forecasted wet weather and it felt bone chilling whilst walking about.
The first bird seen was a Jay that has been visiting the garden of late and whilst out another one was heard , perhaps they have been there all along but just gone a bit quiet of late.
The whole patch was covered in Thrush this morning with at least 150 plus Redwing and 250 plus Fieldfares , they were bouncing all over the fields and hedges .The birds are looking really dapper as they prepare to leave for the north lands. The other bird that is keeping them company is the Starling with at least 800 plus on the patch this morning.
We still appear to have our winter Blackbirds in residence with 26 plus on the patch this morning.
Overhead a few bids passed over with a decent showing of Lapwings with 137 plus seen and a/some Golden Plover were heard but I could not manage to pick them up out of the big blue. A Cormorant passed heading due East , may be a departing winter visitor ?
On the pastures themselves a few Meadow Pipits are about ,but there were only 10 birds this morning, more will pass through as the spring proceeds. Skylarks numbered 10 plus today with at least 3 singing. Stock Dove are displaying and singing with 10 seen around their usual breeding areas.
The Wagtail passage still trickles through with at least 15 pus today, but I have yet to find a White in amongst them yet. The Woodpecker family got into the act with a Greater Spotted flying over and 1 plus Green calling from around the patch.
The other two species of note that passed over ,were a Raven carrying what looked like his breakfast and a Grey Heron which was heading north .
So the species list for this year stands at 52 .
Sunday, 15 February 2015
Back on the patch
Getting back on the patch was on the agenda having been in Holland for the last week with work. I was so busy so no time for any birding but just driving I saw Great White Egret, White Stork ,thousands of Duck , Lapwing , Shelducks and loads more great birds.
So I was hopeful of finding the bird that would get us into the fifties and Willow and I were out by 8.30 ish. The first thing I noted was that it was a lot milder and there was plenty of bird song from the resident species in particular Song Thrush with up to 8 singing around the patch .
Winter Thrush were still on the patch with 43 plus Redwing and a healthy 56 plus Fieldfare ,some birds looked as if they were heading a north easterly direction and we can expect an upsurge in numbers as birds pass through as they head north to their breeding grounds . The other Thrush species were 2 high flying Mistle thrush heading north east and we are still we are covered in a blanket of Blackbirds with 31 plus seen on Saturday.
A sure sign of early spring was a flock of 16 Pied Wagtail which fed in a recently harvested fodder beet field, around 12 Meadow Pipits kept them company .In the top fields a recently arrived flock of 50 plus Meadow Pipits fed. So in the end a good count of 63 plus birds were seen . A scattering of 17 Skylarks were on various fields and a couple are now singing. Starlings seem to be building up in numbers as they prepare to leave for the summer months, I counted around 150 plus today.
As I turned for home a flock of birds caught my eye and there was number 51 for the year on the patch , a fantastic flock of 61 plus Golden Plover moved over in a North Easterly direction. A good bird to see on the patch and a real special bird for me as they represent the wild north lands.
Overhead a flock of 8 Greylag Geese headed for the river meadows and a male Kestrel flew over calling as it went.
On the pastures Stock Doves were represented with 6 birds seen around their breeding areas. In the hedges apart from the usual resident birds 3 superb Bullfinch were seen .
Woodpeckers were represented with 3 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers ,the first 2 been seen in the cottage garden and 2 Green Woodpeckers called from around the area.
The other bird of note were 3 Buzzards .
Sunday was a tad colder but as far as the birds were concerned it was more of the same but with exception that winter Thrush were blanketing the patch with good counts of 177 plus Fieldfare and 202 Redwings , its usual that we see good counts at this time of year as birds pass through . Other Thrush were 26 plus Blackbird , 2 Mistle Thrush and a good count of 9 Song Thrush .
Around the fields 10 Stock Dove were seen and a small count of just 5 Meadow Pipits were about the rest having moved through . Skylarks were also down in numbers with 9 over the fields .
The small flock of 12 Pied wagtails still fed in the same area .
Overhead a soaring Grey Heron put in an appearance and 150 plus Starling passed over in a general Northerly direction .
Raptors were represented by 2 Buzzards and a female Kestrel .
So we now have a total of 51 species for the patch for the year so far.
So I was hopeful of finding the bird that would get us into the fifties and Willow and I were out by 8.30 ish. The first thing I noted was that it was a lot milder and there was plenty of bird song from the resident species in particular Song Thrush with up to 8 singing around the patch .
Winter Thrush were still on the patch with 43 plus Redwing and a healthy 56 plus Fieldfare ,some birds looked as if they were heading a north easterly direction and we can expect an upsurge in numbers as birds pass through as they head north to their breeding grounds . The other Thrush species were 2 high flying Mistle thrush heading north east and we are still we are covered in a blanket of Blackbirds with 31 plus seen on Saturday.
A sure sign of early spring was a flock of 16 Pied Wagtail which fed in a recently harvested fodder beet field, around 12 Meadow Pipits kept them company .In the top fields a recently arrived flock of 50 plus Meadow Pipits fed. So in the end a good count of 63 plus birds were seen . A scattering of 17 Skylarks were on various fields and a couple are now singing. Starlings seem to be building up in numbers as they prepare to leave for the summer months, I counted around 150 plus today.
As I turned for home a flock of birds caught my eye and there was number 51 for the year on the patch , a fantastic flock of 61 plus Golden Plover moved over in a North Easterly direction. A good bird to see on the patch and a real special bird for me as they represent the wild north lands.
Overhead a flock of 8 Greylag Geese headed for the river meadows and a male Kestrel flew over calling as it went.
On the pastures Stock Doves were represented with 6 birds seen around their breeding areas. In the hedges apart from the usual resident birds 3 superb Bullfinch were seen .
Woodpeckers were represented with 3 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers ,the first 2 been seen in the cottage garden and 2 Green Woodpeckers called from around the area.
The other bird of note were 3 Buzzards .
Sunday was a tad colder but as far as the birds were concerned it was more of the same but with exception that winter Thrush were blanketing the patch with good counts of 177 plus Fieldfare and 202 Redwings , its usual that we see good counts at this time of year as birds pass through . Other Thrush were 26 plus Blackbird , 2 Mistle Thrush and a good count of 9 Song Thrush .
Around the fields 10 Stock Dove were seen and a small count of just 5 Meadow Pipits were about the rest having moved through . Skylarks were also down in numbers with 9 over the fields .
The small flock of 12 Pied wagtails still fed in the same area .
Overhead a soaring Grey Heron put in an appearance and 150 plus Starling passed over in a general Northerly direction .
Raptors were represented by 2 Buzzards and a female Kestrel .
So we now have a total of 51 species for the patch for the year so far.
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