Pittswood Birds

This afternoon it was cold and grey, even colder than yesterday, especially in the N wind, temperatures never got above freezing. I made some attempt to visit parts of my patch, namely the Wet Woods Small Holding and Tree Nursery, not visiting the lakes as they will still be solid ice! It was so cold out, most birds were laying low in cover, or moved to a warmer less snow covered area.

Of the birds I did see, 6 LAPWING  were notable, these were in a field I rarely mention adjacent to the Small Holding, nothing much gets on this field as it is of mown grass and very manicured, and I name it the 'dead' field  :-) not dead today though.  The Wet Woods had a few LONG TAILED TITS in the treetops, and half a dozen SONGTHRUSH'S down in the leaf litter, these are probably migrant birds from the continent, as they aren't normally this numerous on my patch. Both KESTREL and SPARROWHAWK were out hunting over the Tree Nursery, where more Songthrush were seen and a pair of GOLDCREST foraged around the Laurel shrubs - how do they keep warm being so small? I only spent just over an hour out, as it was so quiet.

By 15:30 I was back home, hoping for something unusual to visit my garden, the feeders were very busy with all the regular Tits and Finches, but an increase in BLACKBIRD numbers was obvious, 11 were scampering around the floor, finding the dropped seed and eating the last of the apples I had put out, also, an influx of ROBINS was noticed, 5 joined the Blackbirds, plus to add to that lot, not one, but two Songthrushes were making forays from under the shrubs, a rare sight to have two in the garden at the same time! Later in afternoon I also had my first REDWING of the year drop in, very nice, that brought the total garden bird list for 2012 to 25.

A surprise visitor alighted not in my garden, but in the large garden next door to mine, a Lapwing!  It was just 5m from my boundary wall, but I doubt if my tiny walled garden would ever attract one of these!!  As dusk was falling, I saw the LINNET flock alight in an Oak tree, again just out of my garden, I counted 41, a good tally for here in February.

It was far too cold and dull for the camera today, so here are some of the photo's of the GREENFINCH'S I took from my snow covered garden last Sunday,

Greenfinch, Male

Greenfinch, Male

Greenfinch, Female

Greenfinch, Male