Pittswood Birds

It was barely light when I left for my patch walk at 06:00 this morning, and the birds took their time showing themselves, as few were seen in the first 40 minutes or so, and those that did were in just ones and twos.

There were not many highlights for the day, but the very last species I saw was just that, I picked it up from it's call, faint at first, but as it came nearer and flew over the Greenhouse Complex, I picked it up in my bins - a YELLOW WAGTAIL (71) this species takes the August list to 71, the best ever August tally of the 9 so far recorded!

Gulls featured in todays visit, with small groups of HERRING GULL going over all through my 4 hour visit, with a single BLACK HEADED GULL, and two LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS. Raptors were represented by both KESTREL and SPARROWHAWK, seen over Migrant Alley, where flyover CANADA and GREYLAG GEESE were also recorded.

The first Mistle Thrush since the 3rd was seen on the College Sports Pitch and the family of SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS had moved from the College Grounds, and relocated some 300m to the west at the wooded end of Migrant Alley, where a CHIFFCHAFF and female BLACKCAP were seen, more of a surprise was seeing a TURTLE DOVE on the power lines, which gave some of its purring song. Two LITTLE OWLS were heard in the Greenhouse Copse.

The lake and adjacent scrub proved very quiet and disappointing, 15 Canada Geese, 3 MALLARD and two MOORHEN were on the water, but the only noteworthy birds in the scrub were 5 BULLFINCH sitting on the overhead telephone cable, not a usual place to see them :-)

NUTHATCH, TREECREEPER, GOLDCREST, and COAL TIT were all noted, but the final tally for the day should have reached 50+ instead of the 48 seen, as Skylark, Pheasant and Long Tailed Tit all went unrecorded.

No photo's today, the conditions were just too dull and damp :-(