Pittswood Birds

Early this morning, as I walked in to work, one of the PEREGRINES was seen wheeling above the College Grounds, by it's size I would say it was the female, a very nice sight to start the day :-) I also noted a REDWING feeding in the gardens there, they are getting fewer and fewer now as the spring progresses

Back to this afternoons patch walk, it was a very difficult visit, the wind was so strong and gusty that hardly anything could be heard calling or singing. There were the now usual group of CHAFFINCH, GREENFINCH, GREAT TIT, and BLUE TIT, in the Small Holding, plus the GREENWOODPECKER on the large lawn nearby.

The Wet Woods was just not conducive to finding birds, the wind roared through the bare tree tops, clattering the branches together, and if there were any birds about, I didn't notice them! Well, tell a lie, there were 2 pairs of MALLARD on the pools of water!

Thats two pairs more than were on the Lakes today! The only birds seen here were the COOTS, not often I can say that! A little later, the 6 CANADA GOOSE dropped in, two to each lake, they had obviously been flushed off before I got there today, along with anything else that may of been there, - frustrating for me.

The Scrubby Wood had 3 pairs of LONG TAILED TITS, and a calling COAL TIT, one of the few birds that could be heard over the wind, the other being a MISTLE THRUSH that was using it's rattling alarm call. The white rumps of a pair of BULLFINCH were seen as they flew off from an Ash tree, where 6 SISKIN were preening and chattering. I didn't find any Goldcrest, Nuthatch or Treecreeper here today.

Moving on to the Pub Field and Tree Nursery, I once again scanned the half finished muck spread Pub Field, where there were at least 12 STOCK DOVES along with the scores of Corvids, which were mostly JACKDAWS and ROOKS. My Tree Nursery visit didn't reveal yesterdays Stonechat, nor could I find a Grey Wagtail in the drainage ditch, all that was there were 6 female PHEASANTS.

I then went to seek some shelter from the wind, hiding behind the newly erected poly tunnels at the Greenhouse Grounds, from here I looked over Migrant Alley, and the boundary hedge, which was sheltered from the wind, birds of note here were a pair of GOLDCREST and a TREECREEPER :-) Nothing much flew over in my brief skywatch, but a CORMORANT was only the second seen this month, and the inevitable SPARROWHAWK.

This week has been up and down so far, two days of nothing much, and two days with a year tick added, but no sign of the first spring migrant, which will almost certainly be a Chiffchaff, last year I had to wait until the 18th, however in 2003 I had my first singing on todays date, so it should be anytime now :-)

The only photo I got today was this effort of the Treecreeper in the boundary hedgerow.