There have been a few Kittiwakes around this month, and several of them have been near misses for the Redditch area. Upper Bittell and Upton Warren both had one, and yesterday the closest of all was one at a balancing lake near Arrow. I got a call from John Coombes, and was a bit slow to react due to the fact I was watching a World Cup match, and I assumed the lake was outside the Circle. Eventually I realised the boundary sliced through the north-west corner, and I went to try my luck. Too late.
So with Kittiwakes still in mind, I decided to give Tardebigge Reservoir a look this morning. This meant parking at the church where Hawfinches had been seen again in the last few weeks. Well it would be rude not to have a look for them. Initially all I saw were Chaffinches and Redwings, and I had decided to head for the reservoir when I met another birder. He had seen them this morning, so I tagged along with him, and in no time he spotted one. At about the same time I got onto one flying over the church. His was still sat in a tree (a silhouette against the sun), so I checked the back of the church only to see my bird bounding away again. So no photos.
The reservoir was a disappointment. Over 100 Black-headed Gulls, the usual dozen Tufted Ducks and a Great Crested Grebe. At least there were large numbers of Fieldfares and Redwings in the trees on the south-west side.
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| Still plenty of berries |
Back at the church a small group of birders were staring hopefully into the trees, among them Chris Lane who had seen a Hawfinch on arrival. We chatted for a while near the entrance, and as I headed for my car a Hawfinch called and flew away above me.
I think the phrase I would use to describe these Hawfinches is present but flighty.
Back home, we've had the first two Blackcaps, both males, back for the winter this week.
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