Pittswood Birds

It remained dull and overcast all day today and with the chill wind blowing it felt as cold as any day throughout the winter just gone.

A three hour patch visit this morning comprised of a look around the lakes, where the MUTE SWANS, COOTS, CANADA GEESE, MALLARD and MOORHENS were, as they have been recently, all present. Although I didn't walk the scrubby Woods, I heard COAL TIT, TREECREEPER and MISTLETHRUSH all singing from there, as well as calling BULLFINCH and NUTHATCH, plus a drumming GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER.

Also, a walk across the Ashes Lane Fields was made, where there were at least 50 FIELDFARE, but only 4 REDWING, plus a flock of 30 or so STARLING joined them. A GREY HERON flew over as I watched the winter thrushes, only the second record this month.

Todays visit also included a look around the Greenhouse Grounds, but not much was of note there, except of course the KESTREL pair, which were once again mating on one of the greenhouses. Scanning over the sheep pasture and paddocks of the adjacent Migrant Alley, again produced at least 250 BLACK HEADED GULLS, with them once again were 2 MEDITERRANEAN GULLS and 2 LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS. A pair of BUZZARDS drifted over and alighted in the Greenhouse Copse, plus a MEADOW PIPIT, a SKYLARK and a CORMORANT all flew over, neither of these species were seen yesterday............and still no Chiffchaff have arrived  :-(

Mediterranean Gull ( image from last year, but had the sun been out and I had got close enough, these would have been todays images!)