Pittswood Birds

Another sunny warm day, I could get used to this! After a morning at work, I was itching to get out, and 13:00hrs couldn't come quick enough. I had a quick bite to eat, and headed off towards the woods where at first it was a bit quiet, but as I let the woods envelop my senses, I began to tune into the spring symphony, played by the woodland creatures, GREAT TITS were the most obvious, with thier loud, piercing, ''Teacher Teacher'' call and the COAL TITS were not to be outdone, calling their similar, but higher pitched, ''jointy, Jointy, jointy. GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKERS drummed, and both GOLDCREST and TREECREEPER gave their high pitched thin song, which can be so easily drowned out by ones footfall onto last years now crisp leaf litter, from which an even thinner, higher pitched sound came, a Shrew, my first this year. In the top most branches of an Alder, a pair of SISKIN were singing their wild mix of trills, and a little below them, 2 LONG TAILED TITS, chiruped and gave their ''see - see - see call. I could stand and listen all afternoon on days such as these.

After prising myself away from dreamland, I visited the lake area, not expecting too much at this time of the year, and so I wasn't really disappointed when all that was seen was a lone MALLARD and 4 MOORHEN. I did stay for 15mins or so, and strained my ear towards the scrubby orchard, hoping to hear the song of my first migrant Blackcap, but not today, that will be a pleasure to come. However, a CHIFFCHAFF did come and visit me, and let me take some pics, I got some nice shots.

As I passed through what was the tree nursery, a sound came from above me, it sounded like a Mistle Thrush alarm call, but I looked up and saw two male SPARROWHAWKS having a bit of a disagreement over territory, I've never heard that sound from a Sparrowhawk before! Onto Migrant Alley, and I took my seat on the horse jump, a place that the shape of my backside will soon become established! I scanned the fields and paddocks, but didn't come up with any new migrants, just a MEADOW PIPIT, 2 SKYLARKS, 4 PIEDWAGTAILS, a pair of MISTLE THRUSH and the usual corvids. I scanned the sky at intervals, hoping for something spectacular, maybe a Red Kite or a Harrier species, or even maybe an early Swallow, but the best i got was a lone HERRING GULL and two distant CORMORANTS. Not one winter thrush was seen this afternoon, but 2 FIELDFARE were picked out on the stubbles ealier this morning as I walked to work, there may have been more, but it was very foggy. Tomorrow i'll do it all again!

Below is a the ever photogenic ROBIN
And below are the pics I took of the Chiffchaff, i'll soon be taking this species for granted!