Pittswood Birds

I was able to get out today, the weather has relented.........a bit. This morning I left for work, and as I walked along Ashes lane almost the first bird seen was a SPARROWHAWK, as usual it was being chased of by the local SWALLOWS. In the hedgerow a few meters on, a LESSER WHITETHROAT sang, and LINNETS sang on the telephone wires above it. I crossed the sheep and horse paddocks at migrant alley, but nothing much about, just ROOKS and JACKDAWS, with a SKYLARK singing from the maize crop.
I had a short visit to the lake, and adjacent scrub area this afternoon, where BLACKCAP, CHIFFCHAFF and TURTLE DOVE were heard, and the first young TREECREEPERS were seen, associating with a family of GOLDCRESTS. The tree nursery only had a couple of WHITETHROAT, but butterfly wise there was a PAINTED LADY, only my second this year. A short skywatch back at migrant alley only produced KESTREL, another Sparrowhawk, and a HERRING GULL, while a STOCK DOVE called from a small copse nearby.

Spot the sparrowhawk!

This Chiffchaff was at the lakeside scrub. By the shape of the twig in front of it, I think it may of been telling me something!

A Kestrel flew high over migrant alley

An unfortunate end to this Linnet, I think it may have been one of the pair I was listening to this morning. Speeding traffic kills more birds than Magpies do, at least magpies are natural predators.