Pittswood Birds

A mostly cloudy day today, with a few bright or sunny spells. Feeling warm in light winds.

I undertook another full patch walk this morning, finding a good tally of 47 bird species, once again though, as in the last few patch visits, Long Tailed Tit was not on the days list, they are very elusive this month!

After yesterdays exiting flyover of the years first Whimbrel, I wasn't expecting anything more to set my pulse racing today, but a careful look along the nettle/bramble bed beneath the Alder trees that form the border of Migrant Alley and the Greenhouse Grounds, there was indeed something to get excited about, a GRASSHOPPER WARBLER (95,64) no less! This is a real rare bird to visit my patch, just the second record of one in the 15 years of recording, the first being back in September 2011, what a brilliant little Warbler to find!!

After that little find, the rest of the visit felt rather mundane, but all the regular species turned up, apart from Pheasant, the already mentioned Long Tailed Tit and the Lesser Whitethroat that could have been expected to show.

Three House Martins flew over the scrubby Woods, a scarce visitor nowadays, SWIFTS were also seen flying through, but not much else went over apart from a few HERRING GULLS. The KESTREL pair were seen with at least one of their offspring over various parts of my patch, BUZZARD and SPARROWHAWK were also seen.

Best of the rest were.........MISTLETHRUSH, SONGTHRUSH, STOCK DOVE, TREECREEPER, NUTHATCH, BULLFINCH, GOLDCREST, COAL TIT, GREEN WOODPECKER, GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, BLACKCAP, COMMON WHITETHROAT, CHIFFCHAFF, SKYLARK, LINNET, loads of SWALLOWS and a GREY HERON that was fishing on the main lake.