Pittswood Birds

I rather optimistically took my camera out this morning, thinking it would brighten up shortly after dawn. How very wrong! It barely got light at all until around midday, and then it was only marginally better, it was like one of those short December days.

The dull weather was reflected in the bird activity, I really struggled this morning, and it took all of the five hour visit to find just 38 species! There was no way I was going to find any new visitors to my patch today, given that the local birds all seemed to have moved off for some reason.

It would be hard to find a highlight for the visit, but I suppose the two calling REDPOLLS that flew over the lake area would have to be it. A most disappointing morning.

An hours break for lunch back home, had me staring out into the garden while I munched a sandwich and drank my tea, then I noticed what was undoubtedly the bird of the day by a long chalk - a male BLACKCAP. It was feeding on one of the apples that I had impaled in my Elder tree, ( this was to attract a passing Waxwing, but a Blackcap will do!)

After lunch I had a couple of hours out again, checking the lake and scrub area, and the Tree Nursery, but not a lot had changed, just 4 more species were added to the daylist A CORMORANT that was on the lake, a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER that was in one of the nearby Oaks, and both MISTLE THRUSH and SPARROWHAWK that flew over the Tree Nursery.

43 species in 7 hours is truly abysmal, i'll not beat the all time monthly species total with days like this ! Only two days left to achieve it now.