Pittswood Birds

Early fog was a bit of a pain this morning, not clearing until 09:00hrs, but when it did the day turned warm and sunny, the warmest of the year so far I reckon  :-)

I got round for a full patch walk, finding 48 species in all, which was a few less than recent visits, I didn't see regulars like the Long Tailed Tit, Treecreeper or the Little Owl in the Greenhouse Copse today.

One species was added to the year list though, when a lone SAND MARTIN (82,67) flew over the Ashes Lane Fields, not a regular spring sighting here, with only 7 of the 14 years having a spring record, the median average first sighting date for this species is the 14 April, bang on cue then!

The GOOSANDER had returned to the ornamental lake, but there was no sign of a Coot, the adjacent Scrubby Woods had at least 4 BLACKCAPS and 5 CHIFFCHAFFS singing, as well as the regular songs and calls from BULLFINCH, CHAFFINCH, GREENFINCH, COAL TIT, GOLDCREST, BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT, WREN, ROBIN, DUNNOCK, SONGTHRUSH, BLACKBIRD, GREENWOODPECKER, GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, JAY and STOCK DOVE.

Flyovers today included yet more MEADOW PIPITS, I heard several singles and saw a small group of 7 go over Migrant Alley, a single YELLOWHAMMER also went over, a couple of SKYLARKS were seen, a GREY HERON, a SPARROWHAWK the KESTREL pair from the Greenhouses and a gathering of 5 BUZZARDS were also noted..

This afternoon I set off out to try and record some butterflies and maybe get a photo or two, I was successful in finding my first Comma, Orange Tip, Holly Blue and Speckled Wood butterflies, but none gave me a chance with the camera. I also saw my first Grass Snakes of the year, and back home the first Smooth newt was in one of my mini ponds, its all happening now!

In the end, despite the good light, I didn't get a single photo! Luckily I've still got a few shots of the Greenhouse Copse Little Owl that I took a few days ago  :-)

Little Owl - stick free!