Somewhat ironically, despite spending about six hours in the field this week my highlight came yesterday afternoon as I was about to start washing the dishes. I looked up to see a Woodcock perfectly silhouetted against the early evening sky as it flew past the kitchen window. Beat that.
Tuesday certainly didn't come close. In a dogged space-filling exercise I headed down to Holberrow Green to see what I could find. Birdtrack told me I had been there once before, in the 1990s, and apparently saw a Little Owl and a Fieldfare. I have no recollection whatever of this, but the former would have been very welcome this week.
As it was, I saw a fly-over Redpoll and a flock of 17 Meadow Pipits, before hearing Blackbirds mobbing something (probably a Tawny Owl) in a wooded ridge from where I took a scenic shot.
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| The view from near Morton Hall |
Today I headed back down to the south of my Circle to resume my acquaintance with Kinwarton. There was square kilometre just south of the dovecote for which I had no records. It yielded a party of 26 Siskins and not much else.
More interesting was the small pool by the dovecote. Given that it was very cold following a sharp overnight frost, I had expected it to be ice-bound. But no, the trill of a Little Grebe alerted me to the fact it was actually ice-free. A small group of Mallard, and a few Moorhens were standard fare, although the sight of a group of Black-headed Gulls perched on some overhead wires was quite arresting. Eventually I also heard a calling Cetti's Warbler, but despite giving it twenty minutes with my feet slowly turning to ice, it barely showed. I had to settle for a brief flight view (naked eye) and a couple of song bursts. At least a couple of Wrens showed well.
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| Black-headed Gulls |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Wren |
I walked northwards for a while, hoping to see a Little Owl which I had connected with last year. Unfortunately it was not showing and its beginning to look like I'm not going to see one this year.
Back near the Dovecote I counted seven Grey Herons and 10 Lapwings in a grassy field, presumably hunting for earthworms. One of the Herons was in a ditch at the back of the field, and clearly had its eye on something larger.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Starving Lapwings |
This cold snap might be promising for birders, but it could be disastrous for some of the birds I saw today if it carries on for another week.
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