Pittswood Birds

A bit of scattered shower cloud soon dispersed this morning, to give some long sunny spells, it became quite hot again by mid afternoon.

I spent most of the morning carrying out another full patch walk, the five hour visit producing a decent species tally of 47, with three of those being new for this months list, the first of them was a fly over SISKIN (48) which called constantly as it flew SE across Migrant Alley, where the second new species for the month, also a fly over, was seen, LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL (49), part of a small passage of mainly HERRING GULLS, but a couple of BLACK HEADED GULLS went over too. Notable numbers of PIED WAGTAILS were seen on one of the paddocks, with at least 50 birds that I counted, a good deal of those were immature birds, the 6 GREYLAG GEESE were again on the sheep pasture.

The third new species for June brought up the 50th, a SPARROWHAWK (50) that was seen circling up over the Ashes Lane Fields as I was watching a GREY HERON going across. The only other raptor found today was the KESTREL, the local pair were up hunting, and sightings of both the young were had around the fields.

No more new species were found with newly fledged young, but the Greenhouse Grounds WHITETHROATS may well have fledged their brood, the adult female bird was scolding in a different place from the nest site, I just need to find the young now! A second pair of COAL TITS had fledged young, with at least two fledglings seen in a large garden off the Small Holding area.

The Wet Woods and Scrubby Woods provided most of the species today, the best of which were, GOLDCREST, TREECREEPER, NUTHATCH, BULLFINCH, JAY, STOCK DOVE, GREAT SPOTTED and GREEN WOODPECKERS, plus the summer migrant species of CHIFFCHAFF and BLACKCAP. Only MALLARDS and MOORHENS were on the lakes today.

LINNET at the Greenhouse Grounds

GREENFINCH

This young Fox was chasing Rabbits, helping keep their numbers down, a good pest controller!

Not many Odonata species about today, this Large red posed nicely at my garden pond though