Shurnock - more surveying

Another sunny and very mild day following an overnight frost. My destination this morning was an undistinguished patch of farmland just east of Feckenham.

After nearly two hours of squeezing between tree boughs (to follow the footpath), ducking under electrified fences, and nervously watching bucking horses frolicking in the field the path said I had to cross, I ended with precisely nil Willow Tits.

Somewhere near Shurnock Court

There was one scrubby wood following a streamline which looked a plausible habitat, but it proved a let down.

On the way home I tried for the Black Redstart at Castle Farm near Studley Castle. Once again I drew a blank, although my arrival coincided with the departure of a photographer who had seen it this morning.

Instead I saw my first butterfly of the year, a Peacock, and a Mistle Thrush. The thrush is still eluding me at Morton Bagot, visible across the fields in the distance.

At least a nice man in India helped me to reset my internet connection when I got home.