birdman
Sunday 7th March 2004, 16:34
The first weekend in March sees the 14th of my patch trips, and being Saturday, it’s the usual crew.
Cool, but definitely not as cold as recent outback trips, we set of late mid-morning, me still bleary-eyed from watching the first F1 qualy of the season!
Well Saturday proved to be interesting, if not spectacular, and although two patch “life” ticks accrued, they both did so in understated fashion.
The walk was a little shorter than usual, as my (only just teenage) daughter is suffering from a bad back at the moment!
Anyway, the Skylarks were out in force, but the Starlings (bar1) must have been elsewhere, ditto the Black-headed Gulls who seemed to have nicked off somewhere.
The pond did deliver a Little Grebe, perhaps one that has decided to hang around, and a pair of Tufted Ducks, who do seem to be resident.
On Monday I heard my first singing Yellowhammer of the year, and I am pleased to report that there was one showing, and singing during our trip. Maybe Spring is on the way after all!
Almost a Woodpecker-free zone, although we did hear three laughing calls in three very different locations… nevertheless no actual sightings.
And the two “lifers”? Well, at long last I can add Rook to my patch list, as a paltry three birds flew over, and the other addition, a single Brambling. Well, it seems they are a bit thin on the ground this year, so I’m happy with that one.
The Black-headed Gulls are back, as I type, with about 30 circling around, but remain a no-show for the purpose of this report.
Plain text = Outback day tick
Bold text = Outback year tick
Bold italic text = Outback life tick
(Number in brackets is highest number of individuals identified at one time)
Skylark : 7 (2)
Starling : 1 (1)
Goldfinch : 8 (4)
Woodpigeon : 107 (80)
Chaffinch : 8 (2)
Carrion Crow : 5 (2)
Coot : 4 (3)
Magpie : 4 (2)
Moorhen : 6 (3)
Mallard : 11 (5)
Robin : 4 (2)
Bullfinch : 2 (2)
Green Woodpecker : 3 (1)
Little Grebe : 1 (1)
Great Tit : 4 (2)
Tufted Duck : 2 (2)
Blackbird : 5 (2)
Long-tailed Tit : 5 (4)
Rook : 3 (3)
Goldcrest : 1 (1)
Yellowhammer : 1 (1)
Brambling : 1 (1)
Kestrel : 1 (1)
Cool, but definitely not as cold as recent outback trips, we set of late mid-morning, me still bleary-eyed from watching the first F1 qualy of the season!
Well Saturday proved to be interesting, if not spectacular, and although two patch “life” ticks accrued, they both did so in understated fashion.
The walk was a little shorter than usual, as my (only just teenage) daughter is suffering from a bad back at the moment!
Anyway, the Skylarks were out in force, but the Starlings (bar1) must have been elsewhere, ditto the Black-headed Gulls who seemed to have nicked off somewhere.
The pond did deliver a Little Grebe, perhaps one that has decided to hang around, and a pair of Tufted Ducks, who do seem to be resident.
On Monday I heard my first singing Yellowhammer of the year, and I am pleased to report that there was one showing, and singing during our trip. Maybe Spring is on the way after all!
Almost a Woodpecker-free zone, although we did hear three laughing calls in three very different locations… nevertheless no actual sightings.
And the two “lifers”? Well, at long last I can add Rook to my patch list, as a paltry three birds flew over, and the other addition, a single Brambling. Well, it seems they are a bit thin on the ground this year, so I’m happy with that one.
The Black-headed Gulls are back, as I type, with about 30 circling around, but remain a no-show for the purpose of this report.
Plain text = Outback day tick
Bold text = Outback year tick
Bold italic text = Outback life tick
(Number in brackets is highest number of individuals identified at one time)
Skylark : 7 (2)
Starling : 1 (1)
Goldfinch : 8 (4)
Woodpigeon : 107 (80)
Chaffinch : 8 (2)
Carrion Crow : 5 (2)
Coot : 4 (3)
Magpie : 4 (2)
Moorhen : 6 (3)
Mallard : 11 (5)
Robin : 4 (2)
Bullfinch : 2 (2)
Green Woodpecker : 3 (1)
Little Grebe : 1 (1)
Great Tit : 4 (2)
Tufted Duck : 2 (2)
Blackbird : 5 (2)
Long-tailed Tit : 5 (4)
Rook : 3 (3)
Goldcrest : 1 (1)
Yellowhammer : 1 (1)
Brambling : 1 (1)
Kestrel : 1 (1)