Sunday November 24

A cold grey morning. It definitely feels like winter now. A couple of fly over Herring Gulls were the first for a while, and a Grey Wagtail also flew past, possibly landing out of sight.

Dave and I tramped around seeing a Brambling with over 150 Chaffinches, about 140 Linnets, over 20 Reed Buntings. At least 180 Redwings were flying around with about 150 Fieldfares. A few Meadow Pipits were scattered among the finches, and one was reasonably photogenic.

We decided we would have to take action to try to bolster the species list, so we splashed across the marsh, disturbing 16 Common Snipe and the first two Jack Snipe of the autumn. They have probably been present for some time, and were enjoying the peace and quiet we normally afford them.

The flashes produced 11 Wigeon, 131 Lapwings, and 21 Teal plus a few more Snipe. Most of the finch flock was concentrated on the raised ground east of Stapenhill Wood. In addition to the species already mentioned we added 40 Greenfinches, 12 Yellowhammers, 10 Goldfinches, a Siskin and two Lesser Redpolls.

Finally, after crossing the stubble field, flushing about 30 Skylarks in the process, we ended with a call-only Chiffchaff somewhere near, or in, the little reedbed near Netherstead Farm.