Friday February 14

It feels almost inevitable that, having booked today off work some time ago, the day would dawn grey and promise incessant rain and strong winds.

I went birding anyway.

The morning was actually not too bad, just drizzle and a blustery wind. I restricted myself to the flashes, and spotted 20 Pied Wagtails and 56 Black-headed Gulls in the flash field as I walked down. A good sign.

Interestingly, despite all the rain, the furthest flash was mostly just mud, so the water must be continuing to drain back into the nearest flash. That contained 22 Teal and 13 Common Snipe, so I finally cracked and photographed some of the latter for the photo year list.

40. Common Snipe

I had intended waiting until I saw one a bit closer, but they are very set in their ways and my patience ran out.

Moving on to the pool, I found that it contained a pair of Tufted Ducks, and a tiny Sparrowhawk flew to the Tawny Owl tree.

41. Tufted Duck

There were still about 80 Stock Doves in the area, but with the weather worsening I headed back towards Bannams Wood. Loads of corvids, including over 200 Jackdaws and a few Rooks sat in one tree, frequently exploding into the air with great excitement and chattering. Some of the Jackdaws are shown here.

Further on, I found I was pushing Yellowhammers, Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Reed Buntings up the hedge. I just like Reed Buntings, particularly when they pose well.

female Reed Bunting

Finally, I decided to head for Netherstead to birdwatch from the car. At least 35 Yellowhammers were present in the hedgerows, and I found a couple of Red-legged Partridges sheltering from the rain.

42. Red-legged Partridge

So no surprises today, but still plenty of birds to see.