Late Afternoon

It was late afternoon when I called at my feeding station on Rawcliffe Moss to feed. Skies were overcast and there was a touch of drizzle in the air, but at least it was milder. As I pulled up at the feeding station I had two Kestrels; one that flew rapidly towards Curlew Wood and another hovering over the field next to the car.

 Two Kestrels, two species; American above and ours below

As always the first thing I do is scan towards the feeding station with my bins and I could see 40 Fieldfares and 20 Starlings feeding on the ground on the apples I put out and in the case of some of the Fieldfares feeding on Hawthorn berries in the hedge. I have noticed that over the past few days when I have been out and about that Fieldfares and Redwings have been more noticeable of late. Whether these are birds displaced from the east by the cold weather I am not sure, but it is likely.

 Fieldfare

Down at the feeding station were 112 Tree Sparrows, 16 Chaffinch and a single Brambling. As I said earlier it was late afternoon so I am guessing that earlier in the day there would have been more Tree Sparrows. Walking back to my car 130 Pink-footed Geese flew over and a Brown Hare 'shot' from my feet.

No ringing tomorrow, but I will get out birding locally and I need to have a look at the 'obs'. The weather is looking better for some ringing on Sunday, so as always I will keep you posted.

A couple more 'yanks' from Nigel to end today's posting are Chipping Sparrow and male Yellow-shafted Flicker. Nice!