Pittswood Birds

At last a full mornings walk round my patch, only the second this month! Most of the expected birds showed up, apart from the Spotted Flycatcher, and Garden Warbler, but a great day list of 54 species was still recorded.

I was surprised to hear a CUCKOO early on, this could well be the last time this year I hear one, I might just see a migrant bird later on though. Four Raptor species were seen, KESTREL, SPARROWHAWK, HOBBY and PEREGRINE, all flying or hunting around Migrant Alley, where I chanced upon a SKYLARK carrying food, I watched it settle on a fence post, and waited for it to drop down to it's nest, but it wouldn't! It was waiting for me to go, so rather than upset it, I walked on, at least it confirms breeding, something which I havn't recorded for Skylark since 2007.

In the wet woods and lake/scrub area, the most obvious thing are the parties of Tits, LONG TAILED, GREAT, BLUE and COAL TITS have all started to band together in feeding parties, also joined by the odd NUTHATCH and TREECREEPER. I also saw plenty of BULLFINCH'S in the scrub area some taking food back to their nests, and as I tried to photograph a pair, what popped up from the brambles ? Yep....LESSER WHITETHROAT, at last added to the months list, bringing it to 62, just 5 more to equal the June record.

On the way home as I passed the electicity sub-station, the other Lesser Whitethroats popped up, typical! They were very agitated, so they must have young about.

A quick hours afternoon visit didn't provide me with any new birds for the day list, but I did get a patch tick in the form of a Lizard! Brilliant! I keep hearing things scuttle away in the dry hedge bottoms, and always presumed it to be a Lizard, but this is the first i've actually seen, this Lizard went scurring past me as I crossed the Pipeline workings, I carefully followed it and took some pics.


Below, finally, A Lesser Whitethroat for the months list, this one was the sub-station bird.
Below is a pair of Bullfinch's, you can see the male ok - bright red. Spot the female!

She's is in the bottom right of the pic. Below is a cropped and blown up image of the male, you can see it carrying mushed seed for the nestlings. Not a very good photo, they are very shy birds!

Below is the sighting of the day for me, my first patch lizard.

Also about this afternoon were plenty of Large Skipper Butterflies