Pittswood Birds

Walking home from work today I saw that there were 6 LAPWING on the pasture at Migrant Alley,  along with 8 BLACK HEADED GULLS.

This afternoons patch visit started well enough, with a COMMON BUZZARD (44) seen being mobbed by 3 CARRION CROWS as it circled above Ashes lane, unfortunately, that was as good as the walk got! The weather had turned for the better, gone was the biting wind, and although it was still on the cool side, the sun made it feel very pleasant, thus everyone was out with their dogs! To compound that, the lakes were frozen solid so everything had left apart both the COOTS, there's a turn up for the books, nothing but Coots on the lakes  :-)  The Scrubby Woods wasn't even contemplated, as an alarm was belting out from of one of the nearby outbuildings! I made a quick exit, and headed for the Tree Nursery, here I saw 7 MEADOW PIPITS fly up from the grassy part of the field, the most since December. A visit around the Greenhouse Complex didn't produce anything much at all apart from 3 BLACKBIRDS, the months first FIELDFARE (45) flying over and a KESTREL, where have all the birds gone ? I hope they aren't all succumbing to the recent frosts!

With nothing to be gained by hanging about at the Greenhouses, I headed home for my much busier garden feeders, where I took some photo's. It was amazing standing a few feet from the feeders and being surrounded by scores of BLUE TITS, their wings whirring around, it was like watching moths around a lamp. The SPARROWHAWK made 3 failed attempts at getting a meal, he was as bold as brass, whizzing in, then racing around the garden chasing the Tits, despite my presence! A couple of GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKERS almost came down to the feeders, they are getting a bit bolder. Anyway here's what I Photographed  :-)

GREAT TIT

Great Tit

GOLDFINCH

Goldfinch

Blue Tit

Great Spotted Woodpecker