An early visit to the lakes provided the most interesting find of the day, when 2 male and a single GOOSANDER were present, but not a single mallard was seen. A few SISKIN, 7 or 8 in number, were feeding in a silver birch at the lake edge from where I could hear both SONGTHRUSH and MISTLETHRUSH singing.
NUTHATCH, GOLDCREST, LONG TAILED TIT, COAL TIT, BULLFINCH, STOCK DOVE, JAY, GREAT SPOTTED and GREEN WOODPECKERS were seen in the Scrubby Woods and Wet Woods, no Treecreeper today though.
I didn't see or hear a single Meadow Pipit as I crossed the Ashes Land Fields, but it was getting very winy by then, so the noise of that didn't help, although I did pick out the call of a GREY WAGTAIL as it flew over towards the Wet Woods.
A scan across Migrant Alley only provided the same BLACK HEADED GULL flock, but at least I picked out a COMMON GULL among them today, along with a dozen HERRING GULLS. A BUZZARD flew over and flushed everything up, the first one ive seen here since the 19th, that was the only raptor about today though, as the female Kestrel wasn't seen around the Greenhouse Grounds, nor were the Lesser Redpolls, they all seem to be in my garden at the moment!
A short lived spell of sunshine around 11:00hrs gave me a chance to get some images from my garden, the sunlight just about touches the tops of the bushes, the rest of my garden is in shade at this time of year, so I was restricted to photographing what sat there!
As I said, the LESSER REDPOLLS are visiting my feeders, by the dozen :-)
More Redpolls than CHAFFINCHES!
Half a dozen GOLDFINCH are always present
Only one pair of BLACKBIRDS are visiting
5 comments:
It was certainly windy on The Swale NNR this morning, it was almost blowing me backwards along the seawall. But one small piece of joy, our annual Hooded Crow is back again, great to see it.
I wonder where it has been up until now Derek ?
It was first seen on the mainland side of The Swale last week and then on my side yesterday, before that, who knows, but it, or another, has been seen on The Swale NNR every winter for the last ten years.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR to you Warren. With many opportunities to be out with and to photograph the birds you love.
Cheers Pete :-)
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