Tuesday January 25 - The field of dreams

 This morning I joined Mike Inskip again and took him to Ham Green where I understood from Neil D there were a number of Bramblings. I had seen a tweet of his about two weeks ago, which referred to over forty, so I was keen to see them. When I texted Neil last night, mentioning that Mike would be with me, he told me to look for the sunflowers.

All became clear as soon as we arrived. A hill top field full of dead sunflowers and several other bird-friendly crops. I had been wondering why I hadn't seen many finches locally, and now I know. They're all here!

It was fantastic. Probably over 600 finches primarily comprising three species; 148 Bramblings, about 100 Chaffinches, and about 300 Linnets. It was like Morton Bagot used to be ten years ago.

Mostly Bramblings

Mostly Linnets

Bramblings are wonderful birds. They are genuine Scandinavian migrants, and they're just superb to look at.

Stunning Bramblings

We noticed that the species tended to form discrete flocks in different parts of the field, Bramblings and Chaffinches nearest to the road, Linnets at the top of the hill, and a few buntings in the back hedge.

We counted 10 Yellowhammers and a similar number of Reed Buntings, but only two or three Greenfinches. 

So nice to see a few Yellowhammers

The other prominent species was the Stock Dove, and we estimated 300, although there were a few Jackdaws mixed in with them.

Mostly Stock Doves

A Red Fox was trotting across a neighbouring field. Clearly this oasis in the green desert of pasture was a major draw. The only thing missing was the sun (and some raptors would have been nice).

PS: Although there is a footpath around the field, I saw only one parking space in the lane. Anyone considering visiting the location may need to consider parking in Feckenham and walking from there (about two miles) if the spot is taken.