Pittswood Birds

My walk into work this morning gave me a surprise species for the patch year list, a REED WARBLER (93, 68). It was singing from a large, dense blackthorn tree which is in the Green house Complex. Spring Reed Warblers are a real treat on my patch, being seen in 5 of the 9 springs now recorded, they are a scarce passage species.

So the year list moves on, just 7 short of my 100 target, and the months list of 68 is the joint 2nd best May with 2008, but still 3 short of last Mays record of 72.

After the success of my walk to work, my afternoon patch visit was not very interesting, the glorious sunshine had lasted only until I left work, it then clouded over and a cool breeze set in, ruling out finding any Butterflies, or my first Damselflies of the year.

I could still hear the chainsaws over at the large garden by the lakeside scrub area, so again I avoided going there, and did a repeat walk of yesterday afternoon, resulting in many of the same birds species being seen!

I added PIED WAGTAIL to the patch breeding list, when a fully fledged one was seen in the Tree Nursery, and at Migrant Alley, the north end scrub held two COMMON WHITETHROAT, they are new to that habitat. Also seen here was a CHIFFCHAFF, a pair of BULLFINCH, and the family of LONG TAILED TITS that I found last week. Nearby a BLACKCAP and SONGTHRUSH sang, and once agin a CUCKOO called to the north of my patch.

On the sheep pasture and paddocks, again it was LINNETS, Pied Wagtails, WOODPIGEON, and Corvids, with even more Juv. STARLINGS than yesterday, also a pair of GREEN WOODPECKERS were feeding around the horses hoofs. The only raptor seen today was a SPARROWHAWK, that flew over the copse hehind the Greenhouse Complex, with it's prey.

Below: Juv. STARLING.