Wednesday 5 March 2014

Patch and brief Dunge visit

A walk on Sunday morning round the patch produced another MEDITERRANEAN GULL with a mixed flock of COMMON and BLACK HEADED. Lots of birds were singing, notably a couple of YELLOWHAMMERS that have been much scarcer this winter, SKYLARK song also filled the air making it feel like things were on the up! Six GREY HERON flew along Digdog Lane and the second six of the day came in the form of COMMON BUZZARDS over Roundshill Wood. In the woods TREECREEPER, NUTHATCH and a couple MARSH TITS were adding to the general buzz of noise, WRENS called from various bits of undergrowth. No new birds for the patch but a nice walk nonetheless.
Treecreeper

Yellowhammer

Grey Herons


The afternoon was spent having a quick look for the Chinese Pond Heron at Hythe but like several I talked to I didn't see it, mind you in just over an hour I would have to have been extremely lucky. A drive back via Dunge produced SMEW, GREAT WHITE EGRET, GLOSSY IBIS and 3 PEREGRINES at various points across Walland Marsh, one of which had just caught something and whizzed by the car with me scrambling to get the lens out of the window!
Glossy Ibis

Great White Egret on Arc

Scrambled Peregrine pic!

I have managed to get out to the patch each morning this week for a short walk, REDWINGS and FIELDFARES have been very noisy in the car park when I arrive and at least 3 BULLFINCH have also been seen there every morning so far, still they remain very camera shy, as do most of the Fieldfare and Redwing. Elsewhere a few REDPOLL are still flying around and the WATER RAIL was seen this morning.
On the way to work this morning 2 MED GULLS were over the fields in the lanes between Staplehurst and Marden and a BLACKCAP was in song again near Marden Station.
Another morning Robin

Redwing

8 comments:

Warren Baker said...

Got near enough for a decent shot of the Redwing Alan, they are difficult to approach most of the time.

Some good birds cropping up over there at the moment.

Rohrerbot said...

Lots of tricky birds to approach but you got several pics! Awesome!

Phil said...

Some very nice pics there Alan, nice to get a Redwing before they leave us.
Bad luck with the Heron, I've heard tales of people spending over 30 hours trying to see it. Not sure I would invest that amount of time!

Marianne said...

Very nice post, lovely atmospheric photos. It's good to see a Redwing, there don't seem to have been many around this 'winter'. The Peregrine-out-of-the-car-window - well grabbed! I had a moment like that with a Hobby down the Dunge access track last year, it didn't end as well as that :)

Greenie said...

Alan ,
I can almost hear that cock Yellowhammer singing .
Unlucky with the Heron .
Had to be quick for that Peregrine , well done .

Maria said...

very nice post! Love it!
And a lot to hear in the morning.

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

Lovely Robin and Redwing.. Nice pics.. Regards..

Helma said...

A very nice bird blog with various colorful birds. Redwing and yellowhammer are great nice captured, but also your tree creeper. The Black Ibis may be there just like the robin and the zivelrreiger. The fly images of Reger and Scrambled Peregrine pic you despite everything succeeded :-)