Pittswood Birds

A better day weatherwise today, long sunny spells with just occasional cloud drifting over made for a pleasant 3 hour patch visit, it even felt quite warm out of the brisk NW breeze, warm enough for a Red Admiral Butterfly to flutter past me as I finished my walk.

Once again though, the bird numbers were well down, and a low total of just 39 species was recorded, missing are the winter thrushes, with just one FIELDFARE being seen, a roving mixed feeding flock is not unusual in November, but that has become a rare find this month, even the likes of Blackbird and Starling are not to be found in their usual numbers.

I was left with meeting up with most, but not all of the regular patch species, as I didn't find a Nuthatch or Coal Tit today, although they were seen in my garden this afternoon, along with a lone LESSER REDPOLL, a fantastic garden visitor, and the 40th species to visit my little garden this year, easily passing the previous best year tally of 36  :-). Anyway I digress, best of what was seen out on patch was much as has been recorded over recent visits, MUTE SWAN and KINGFISHER on the Ornamental lake are always good to have here, plus TREECREEPER, GOLDCREST and BULLFINCH in the Scrubby Woods are always worth the chase to get a photo - which I failed miserably to do!

The LITTLE OWL was flushed from the old shack by some bloke ferreting in the Ashes lane Filed - more disturbance I could do without, and the female KESTREL was seen hunting over the Pub Field, giving me some nice poses when it alighted a few times.

Kestrel

The female bird is a bit more approachable than the male

But still only puts up with so much camera clicking  :-)

Over at the Greenhouse Grounds the workers were once again enjoying a huge bonfire and by the looks of the large pile of waste timber, they will be disturbing the area for a few days yet  :-(  I did find a small group of GOLDFINCH on the other side of the site though, with them were a few SISKIN, and as I watched them a flock of a dozen or so LONG TAILED TITS breezed past me, heading for my garden feeders by the looks of it! A couple of GREENFINCH were seen along Ashes Lane as I walked home, the first seen away from my feeders for a week, and as I approached my house a SPARROWHAWK flew over, no doubt also heading for my house and the feeders there  :-)

Another visit with no addition to the months list then, surely something will turn up soon!