Pittswood Birds

Iris

The wind had dropped out overnight, so this morning whilst out on my patch visit I could here a pin drop, but I couldn't see a thing due to the dense fog!  The fog did clear around 08:00hrs however, and it brightened up for a few hours before......yes.......you guessed it........ more rain came in  :-(

Before the rain arrived I recorded a much larger list of species than yesterday, 48 in all, nothing was seen that hasn't already been recorded this month, but I did find the first confirmed successful breeding for GOLDCREST, when two adults were seen feeding at least 3 young at the Scrubby Woods. Also here, without the roar of the wind through the trees today, I was also able to hear NUTHATCH, TREECREEPER and COAL TIT, as well as enjoy some song from BLACKCAPS, CHIFFCHAFFS, ROBIN, DUNNOCK, WREN, CHAFFINCH, BLACKBIRD, SONGTHRUSH, and most enjoyable of them all, TURTLE DOVES. The nearby lakes were almost deserted today, but the COOTS continue to bring up their two young, with the only company for them being a single CANADA GOOSE and two MOORHEN.

The only other place on my patch that was yielding any number of birds was the College Grounds, where a pair of SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS were seen, but they are starting to get more elusive now, as they begin to nest build. The young of BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT, CHAFFINCH, Dunnock, Robin, Songthrush, STARLING, JACKDAW, MAGPIE, PIED WAGTAIL and LINNET were all seen here, as well as the other regulars, like GREENFINCH, GREEN WOODPECKER, GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, JAY, MISTLE THRUSH, and another two TURTLE DOVES, yet another Turtle Dove was seen at the top of an electricity pylon behind the wooded headland at Migrant Alley, where it sang loudly.

A few flyover species were noted today, BLACK HEADED, HERRING and LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS, a BUZZARD and a GREY HERON, multiple sightings of SPARROWHAWK and KESTREL were also seen.

I ended my visit in the Tree Nursery, where two pairs of WHITETHROAT were actively singing, but I was mainly there to get some photo's for todays blog, as I had until then not pointed the camera at anything, apart from the Iris at the top of the page, which was in the College Gardens.

The Tree Nursery yielded the usual White Legged Damselfly, plus a couple of Butterflies and moths, one that needs IDing.............

Common Blue Butterfly

Brown Argus Butterfly

Cinnabar Moth

Yellow Shell Moth

When I returned home, there was a Juv. Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding on my peanut feeder, not a good photo, but it was down the end of the garden and under my Elder tree in the gloom  :-)

Juv. Great Spotted Woodpecker