It's been a difficult week. A wheelchair malfunction left me housebound as my caring role went a bit more full on. Thankfully we got it fixed yesterday, so this morning I was finally able to get out into the frozen landscape.
My target was Morton Bagot, in the hope that last Sunday's mystery caller was still there. The temperature was -5'C when I arrived, and still -2'C when I left at 11.00. A certain amount of hanging about left me unable to feel my toes. I also didn't hear or see the potential Olive-backed Pipit/Tree Pipit/something we didn't think of.
In some ways I was relieved. An OBP would be massive in regional terms, and releasing the news would create plenty of issues about parking and crowd management. I would have to get permission from HOEF first, and if that was denied my name would soon be mud with other birders. We would probably end up with some kind of Pied-billed Grebe fudge to spread the blame *See below.
 |
| Frozen pond |
The only waterbirds I saw were four Snipe toughing it out in the flash field. However, there was also an extremely modest hard weather movement of 10 Lapwings heading west.
 |
| Some of the Lapwings |
All the usual passerines were still present, including the Stonechat and 10 Meadow Pipits which were scattered by a charging male Sparrowhawk.
 |
| Redwing |
 |
| Stonechat |
I later heard that Earlswood is now frozen solid, and that a party of five Whooper Swans flew over a garden at Hollywood (just north of my Circle).
It was definitely worth a punt today.
*A Pied-billed Grebe was suppressed by permit-holding birders at Westwood Pool in Worcestershire a couple of winters ago, causing a good deal of ill will among those who didn't get a call.
No comments:
Post a Comment