At last a bit of sunshine, and out of the wind it felt quite warm. The LITTLE OWL was thinking the same thing, as it sunbathed in its usual place, in the old apple tree in the small holding. In the wet woods, I immediately flushed up a party of REDWING feeding on the floor with a few CHAFFINCH, and a couple of MOORHENS scampered off for deeper cover. Two TEAL swam away into dense undergrowth, but didn't flush up. I went deeper into the woods and stopped by on old yew tree, where I could hear a GOLDCREST calling. I stood here for half an hour watching not one but at least 6 of them, they would feed for a while, and then make there way down for a drink from one of the pools. I checked each one carefully, but couldn't turn one into a Firecrest! Whilst I was watching, a COAL TIT came into view, as did the pair of MARSH TITS a TREECREEPER and a NUTHATCH, they all came exceptionally close, giving some good photo opportunities - I was like a kid in a sweet shop, I would focus on one bird, then another would come closer, so I focused on that, then it would move off, and i'd get neither pics! All this went on with a flock of 5-10 SISKIN feeding over head in the Alder trees.
Eventually I moved off, and checked out the lake, but it was dissapointing again, just 15 MALLARDS, and 6 CANADA GEESE were present. Not surprising really, as the shotgun blasts and gas cannon were booming overhead all of the afternoon. I back tracked along the footpath, and through the woods into the tree nursery, as I passed the rows of young beech trees, with their brown leaves still showing, a WOODCOCK flew up and alighted futher down the plot. I really am being spoilt for this species this winter.
At Migrant Alley the fields were bare, something had been through before me - probably a dog walker, but maybe it was the peregrine ? I did see a large female SPARROWHAWK fly low in a wide arc, maybe it was her. The nearby Raspberry canes had at least a dozen BULLFINCH feeding on the old fruit seeds, a good count for this colouful finch (another one of my favourite birds!) A bonus for the end of the afternoons walk, was the sighting of a Fox, sleeping amongst the rows of raspberry canes, it raised its head looked at me through one eye and went back to sleep!!


Below. the Little Owl sunbathing at its usual place

Above and below a Marsh Tit

Below. Treecreeper

And last of all a stunning male Bullfinch.

Once again the sunshine vanished just in time for the afternoon patch visit, but was I daunted ? Yes!! After yesterdays totally rubish day, what with all the disturbance, I was tempted to stay in and watch the garden, but the thought of missing something interesting nearly always gets me out. I only visited the wet woods and lake area, as Migrant Alley was disturbed again. Hadlow College had decided to burn more rubbish right in the maize stubbles, you 'd think being a place of learning, they would show the students some of the winter thrush flock that feeds there, but no, a bonfire it was to be, and the thrush flock had to eat elswhere.
Anyway rant over, I did my usual ''walk- stop- listen'' for an hour or so around the wet woods, and was enjoying the sight of a mixed feeding flock, around 20 LONG TAILED TITS, a TREECREEPER, 3 GOLDCREST, 2 COAL TIT and a few BLUE and GREAT TIT were all feasting on invisible things that live on bare twigs. However the next stop produced a species that I have tried to see in the woods on the last few visits, more in hope than expectation - A LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER (70), A male bird chipped away at an old branch, allowing me some grainy photo's, my first of this species.

Records of L.S. Woodpeckers are few and far between, this being just the 10th sighting. The first was in my garden on the 5th July '03, the next wasn't until November '05, when a female bird was seen on 12th, 13th, and 19th. In 0206 a male was seen also on three dates, June 19th, July 29th, and oct 8th, the last two sightings were of a female on 10 dec 2007, and a male on February 7th last year. So this is a good species to add to the list this year if i'm going to have any hope of beating last years 106 total.

I did visit the lake area but all that was found was a small flock of BULLFINCH, 4 or 5 birds, also a small group of SISKIN just 4 birds, a GREY HERON was asleep on the bank of one of the ponds, but only MALLARD and MOORHEN were on the water.

I now know why I drag myself out when I don't really feel like it, you just never now what your missing!

Below are 3 pics. of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Not great, but passable - I think!