Jan 26th

Dad came and picked me up at around 9am this morning, it was raining and we weren't sure how long we would last!! Arriving in the car park, the rain started to ease, a SONG THRUSH was in full song but otherwise it was fairly quiet. As we walked through the new orchard we counted 6 BULLFINCHES and a couple of GREAT TITS, the odd FIELDFARE flew north and a TREECREEPER and NUTHATCH showed well, though the light was very poor for photography. A scan across the fields produced a GREY HERON in the corner of a distant one and one or two SKYLARKS were heard singing. As we entered a path that looks like a tunnel at the moment, there were loads of FIELDFARES darting around in front of us, we thought maybe 50 or so, watching them for sometime they eventually moved on and we realised there were actually 300 or more!! they had been feeding on sloes, I counted a minimum, 180 birds sitting in the tops of trees, the rest had headed off in the opposite direction.

I took this a couple of days ago, today it was full of Fieldfares (also my only 'patch' Long eared Owl was seen here)

The flock of YELLOWHAMMERS is still present and today there were 10 or more REED BUNTING with them, a COMMON BUZZARD flew close by along a hedge and we found 15 SISKIN in the alders along the stream. The wood was fairly quiet until I heard a distant call which gradually got closer, a LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER, gave itself up as it flew over our heads, the first one Dad had seen for many years and I was pleased to get my second sighting of the year. Here we also added MARSH TIT, COAL TIT and GOLDCREST, plus the only REDPOLL of the morning that called as it flew over. Finally we had one last look across the valley, the first bird Dad saw was a MUTE SWAN!! (68) and only the third one recorded here in 14 years!! A great way to end the morning :-)