Pittswood Birds

This morning it was dull and overcast, without a breath of wind, ideal for spotting and hearing flyovers!

They were a few flyovers too, I saw and heard both REED BUNTING and YELLOW WAGTAIL go over as I walked a circuit of Migrant Alley, where the 100+ MEADOW PIPITS were on the sheep pasture. A GREY WAGTAIL also flew over calling, dropping down into the Greenhouse Grounds eventually, the skein of 10 CANADA GEESE, then a pair of CORMORANTS were a bit easier to pick out against the grey sky.

A CHIFFCHAFF sang from the hedgerow at the Pub Field, it was joined by a few CHAFFINCH and HOUSE SPARROWS. Three BLACK HEADED GULLS flew over the Ashes Lane Field, as did a HERRING GULL, but nothing was on the drainage ditch fence line today.

The Wet Woods and Scrubby Woods were given a good searching, in particular I gave a good look at the GOLDRESTS that I found, just in case one was a Firecrest! TREECREEPER, NUTHATCH, COAL TIT, JAY, GREAT SPOTTED and GREEN WOODPECKERS, BULLFINCH and two more Chiffchaffs were all found.

The lakes were again their usual quiet self, but 5 MALLARDS had at least joined the MUTE SWAN family, COOT and MOORHENS today!

I spent 2 hours back on my seat at Migrant Alley, watching the sky and listening, as usual I found KESTREL and SPARROWHAWK easily enough, but it wasn't until almost mid day that I recorded BUZZARD, two of which flew over the Wet Woods. Small parties of HOUSE MARTINS and SWALLOWS flew over and SKYLARKS were on the move, with 3, 12 and another 3 seen flying NW. A LITTLE OWL called from the Greenhouse Copse, and a Goldcrest was calling from the hedgerow of the Greenhouse Grounds behind my seat, which I checked out just in case  :-)

With the lack of light this morning, my camera stayed at home, but whilst I was watching my garden this afternoon hoping for the Firecrest to return, which it didn't, I had another close encounter with the Sparrowhawk, so I had to get some sort of image of it, despite the light  :-)  I also noted two Goldcrest and two Chiffchaffs around the place.

Sparrowhawk 

Chiffchaff