Friday December 20 - More exploring

 This week the spin of the dice threw up two local venues which had thus far avoided my attention. On Tuesday I hooked up with Andy Gooding who was keen to accompany me around an area of Lapworth close to where he lives.

We met at the churchyard of St Mary's the Virgin and followed footpaths and towpaths in an approximate circle within a one kilometre square. It was a grey old day and deteriorated into light drizzle before we finished, but I enjoyed the walk as we accumulated 39 species in just over two hours.

The landscape was a mixture of pasture and small woodlands and we saw over 100 Redwings, 45 Goldfinches and decent numbers of other common birds. My favourite field was a partially flooded ridge and furrow next to the canal. As well as Redwings and Goldfinches it contained about 15 Meadow Pipits and both Pied and Grey Wagtails. A pair of Goosanders flew down the canal to my surprise, although I think they were a familiar winter resident for Andy. Unfortunately the gloomy weather did not encourage me to get my camera out. 

This morning I was at least able to remedy that as it dawned fairly bright. The walk was much closer to home, nearer even than Morton Bagot, but I didn't hold out much hope for it. A number of small farms included one called Cadborough Farm which seemed to be a dairy farm. The eventual species list was a paltry 29, but did include some surprises, most notably a calling Green Sandpiper which must have flushed from along the brook between Cadborough Farm and Tracy Farm. Annoyingly I only heard it.

On the opposite side of the Henley Road was a field of rougher pasture and a marshy scrub/woodland which looked worth a visit. Shortly after thinking it looked ideal for a Woodcock, one flushed from a few feet away giving briefly excellent views before disappearing behind the bushes. So after a year of not seeing any, that was my second in a week.

The short walk from Cadborough to Tracy Farm gave me a couple of chances to photograph some birds. There were two or three Meadow Pipits and a few Redwings, which was all I needed.

Meadow Pipit

One of about 60 Redwings