Pittswood Birds

After yesterdays non visit, I was back out on patch this afternoon. The recent trouble will now hopefully  be a thing of the past, as after being visited last night by the police, and again later this morning, when they talked to my missus, they have advised me to go back to walking my patch as normal and should now no longer have a problem, as they have spoken to the guy and it seems that if I don't bother him he wont bother me, they did give me a number to call however if things did take a turn for the worst again, but I don't think they will now!

Right,  now I can get focused back on the birds!!

As I said, I was back out on patch this afternoon, and for once it was a proper winters day, cool and still, with some weak watery sunshine to accompany me through the Small Holding and Wet Woods. In the Small holding, there was, as have been for a few days now, a gang of CHAFFINCH and GREENFINCH, which I scanned for my first Brambling of the year, no luck there though, it's a species I think i'll struggle with at this end of the year at least, but one might just turn up at my garden feeders. Also in the Small Holding were two GREEN WOODPECKERS feeding under the old pear tree's, and a MISTLE THRUSH sat in the top most branch of one.

It was all pretty still in the Wet Woods, the recently half filled water ditches are again drying out quickly, limiting the chances of finding a Teal here, GREAT TITS were calling, and a strong drumming performance was heard by a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, which I picked out on an old decayed Oak branch, I thought I heard the call of a Treecreeper deep in the wood, but didn't hear enough to confirm.

All was quiet walking the footpath from the Wet Woods to the Lakes, but once at the lakes things livened up a bit, the COOT was still on the smallest of the lakes always a treat for me  :-)  and a KINGFISHER was hidden amongst the bankside vegetation of the main lake, well, as good as it could hide with those colours!  There were also six pairs of MALLARD hidden under the tree overhang of that lake, and 4 MOORHENS chased about on the water - quite busy for here!

The surrounding Scrubby Woods was quite good today, with COAL TIT, BULLFINCH, SISKIN, NUTHATCH,  singing GOLDCREST and a troop of LONG TAILED TITS being found, plus all the regulars like DUNNOCK, SONGTHRUSH, BLACKBIRD, ROBIN, plus the tits, and finch's. No sign of any winter thrushes at all though :-(

Walking back the way I'd came, and then over to the Tree Nursery, didn't add much more to the day, the KESTREL was again up hunting, but again no winter thrushes were found, nor were the usual Meadow Pipit that frequent the shrubs and grass of the nursery. A short visit to my seat at Migrant Alley for a skywatch, produced 2 SKYLARK out in the pasture, but apart from a few BLACK HEADED GULLS and a flyover SPARROWHAWK not much else was of note.

Very frustratingly - despite the good light today, I didn't get a single photo!!  Tomorrow looks a better day for that - providing any early fog clears quickly enough   :-)