Thursday 27 February 2014

All Green and Grey

After yet another leisurely Latte in Booths, and calling at the local agricultural college to pick up the waste bird seed from the aviaries, I headed to my feeding station to undertake a 'seed drop'. I had virtually clear skies with a 15-20 mph westerly wind, but it was a beautiful day.

On the flood the regular Green Sandpiper was still there with the 'becoming regular' Grey Wagtail, and lending them some company was a cracking male Pied Wagtail. Just by the barn I came across a flock of 30 Chaffinches feeding around some muck heaps on some maize stubble, but no sign of the Linnets from last week.

As I headed off down to the feeding station I thought at first that perhaps the Tree Sparrows had dispersed as I only had one or two, but then they started to fly in and I realised that probably something had flushed them just prior to me arriving and they had flown up the '97 Hedge'. In the end I still only had twenty, but more were arriving as I left. There were also two Yellowhammers, a few Chaffinches and Tits too.

As I watched four Stock Doves fly over I picked up 120 Lapwings on the stubble field and decided not to bother walking along the 97 Hedge in case I flushed them. Also on the flood at the end of the track were eight Shelducks and another Green sand. As I headed back to the car about a thousand Pink-footed Geese lifted from the west fields and two Buzzards went over calling.

 Pink-footed Geese

As I drove off site a flock of 23 Corn Buntings were on telegraph wires above some stubbles and a few dropped in to the hedge and I managed to get a couple of shots of one of them.

 Corn Bunting (above & below)



Fingers crossed I might have some ringing news for you tomorrow!  

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