0915 - 1215 Overcast, grey, occasionally brightening, occasional light rain, N f2-3 cold
Well....okay....winter set in a few days ago with the first couple of frosts.....slightly warmer today for the visit but a cold northerly....however....a great morning anyway....get out there and bird...!
There has certainly been a lot more access to the pits the past couple of weeks....hang on....these are MY gravel pits....how dare they....Tarmac are steadily using the sand and aggregate deposited a few years ago around the quarry area...the Feral Pigeons were constantly moving around....annoyed?...excited?...or looking forward to some fag ends and sandwich bits no doubt distributed by the workmen....
There were 10 Magpies in the field just east of the gate....no idea what ten is worth...? But the first inkling of a good morning was getting to the paddocks and spotting half a dozen Blackbirds on the far hedgerow....a few Fieldfare cackled and then the Redwing began to move....at least 100 along with a good number of Fieldfare and at least 12 Blackbirds around....in fact all morning the Fieldfares and Redwings went there and back across the site......
East pit, for a change, held a good number of Gadwall. The place on site to be today was near island pit....having viewed the pit itself from small lump it became clear many smaller birds were moving along the field, east to west....moving toward big lump it became obvious there was a bunting/finch flock....Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and one Brambling, a new species for the site I believe....
A Dunnock was hanging around....possibly bemused by the activity.....but hopefully this is the new spot for the buntings this winter, slightly west from last winter......
Heading back a Merlin whizzed across the path and over the trees....a flock of thrushes appeared almost immediately.....
So...on the water....
1 Kingfisher, 50 Tufted Duck, 46 Gadwall, 16 Shoveler, 1 Mute Swan, 1 Herring Gull, 50+ Black-headed Gull, 5 Little Grebe, 1 Little Egret....Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Moorhen.
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