Pittswood Birds

After an initial little bit of mist, the morning turned out to be fine and warm, with very little wind  :-)

My patch visit this morning didn't have the excitement of previous visits, but there was plenty to keep me out and about. A pair of SONGTHRUSH were virtually the first birds I saw as I left the house, good to know there are still a few about!

The Greenhouse Grounds was pretty quiet, but two CHIFFCHAFFS were seen there and the PIED WAGTAILS were watched exiting their over night roost in the greenhouses. Nothing was on the paddocks and sheep pasture at Migrant Alley, not even the corvid flock, I think I was bit early for them  :-) Just a dozen SWALLOWS were seen, these being the last of the local birds that breed at the nearby college stables.

I soon made my way over to the lakes and Scrubby Woods area, where on the water a GREY HERON, a CANADA GOOSE and a MANDARIN DUCK had arrived to add a bit of interest. The Scrubby Woods had a single BLACKCAP, another two Chiffchaffs, one of which gave some cheerful song, but no other summer birds were noted. Calls from COAL TIT, GOLDCREST, TREECREEPER, NUTHATCH and BULLFINCH were all heard.

On the way back over to my sky watching seat I passed through the Ashes lane Fields, finding the BUZZARD on the drainage ditch fence line again, as well as finding the LITTLE OWL at home in the old shack. I checked the hedgerow that divides the Ashes Lane Field from the Pub Field, but there were no goodies to be found there today.

I was a good 60m away from the Buzzard, but took a few shots anyway  :-)

I cropped this as far as I could!

As the temperature rose rapidly my sky watch became a case of count the soaring Buzzards, at one point there were 6 up together, but many more sightings of singles, two's and three's were had during the 90 minutes I was there. The local KESTREL pair were up hunting too, as was a SPARROWHAWK and a HOBBY.  MEADOW PIPITS called as they went over every 10 minutes or so, a couple of them dropping down into the sheep pasture, plus both GREY and YELLOW WAGTAILS were heard, then picked out against the blue sky.

There were no additions to the months list today, not really surprising though, I've had a good time of it in the first week of this month!

All that lovely light this morning, but the only images I got were of the long distance Buzzard and this female Migrant Hawker, that too was out of range, that's how it goes some days though!