Pittswood Birds

It was good to get out for a full patch walk this morning, where early on the sun tried to shine, but it was soon overhauled by a bank of cloud. The three and a half hour visit produced 44 species, just about average for a February day, most of those were the common and regular stuff, but the very last species I found today, in the Tree Nursery, was a new one for the month - a SNIPE (54) not a regular sighting at all on my patch, indeed some years it goes unrecorded.

On the Lakes today there were 9 CANADA GEESE, 4 MALLARD, 4 MOORHEN and the COOT pair, one of which provided me with a photo

One of the Coot pair

At Migrant Alley there were about 150 FIELDFARE on the sheep pasture, but the only REDWING for today concerned a single bird seen at the College Grounds. A LITTLE OWL was heard calling from the Greenhouse Copse, and another was seen well as it flew from a large garden adjacent to the Pub Field and alighted in an Oak tree in the Tree Nursery, the Pub Field was host to a party of 33 BLACK HEADED GULLS with a single COMMON GULL.

The Wet woods were busier than of late, with  singing from both TREECREEPER and COAL TIT, which joined a flock of LONG TAILED TITS, also in the woods were drumming GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, SISKIN and GOLDCREST.

SPARROWHAWK and KESTREL were the only raptors seen today, while flyover species were few, however I managed to miss a Little Egret that was reported to me (thanks Dave) it flew over the Pub Field, heading east.

Despite some indifferent light conditions this afternoon, I got some nice Long Tailed Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker images from my garden  :-)

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Long tailed Tit

Long tailed Tit

Long tailed Tit