IanF
Moderator
A revisit yesterday. Bright and sunny starting off but clouding over mid-morning. Very cold as well but at least the winds were light. All the scrapes were well frozen and the north edge of the lake was frozen out to 3-4m.
Quite a bit of activity around the car park when I arrived with Tree Sparrow, Dunnock and Robin on the tables. Lots of birds in the north side hedge and in the reeds beyond 8-10 Reed Bunting. A nice sight was a Stonechat by the sewage works compound fence. It's a while since I saw one here though previous winters it's been a regular spot.
The trees above the five-bar gate held Crows, Magpie, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Reed Bunting plus a GSW which headed off towards the feeding station.
I just followed the gravel track over to the lake not seeing much until reaching the lake itself. It was nice to see that two Goldeneye have turned up. Previous years I've seen them mid-November but these were the first two I've seen this winter. Everything else was pretty much the same apart from Shoveler which seem to have moved on. Maybe a few more Gadwall though I didn't count them.
A friendly Robin was waiting in a bush by the screen. I had to stand over it whilst it fed to stop four Magpies from muscling in. There were six Magpie along a very short stretch no doubt waiting to clear up after duck feeding.
Very little seen walking around to the hide where at least half a dozen Fieldfare and Redwing were feeding on berries above the hide. As I turned left and crossed the bridge more took off fro the trees totalling around 20 of each.
The alders by the pylon were filled with Goldfinch c.40. I could only spot three Redpoll today. Several Chaffinch were with them.
Little else seen walking though Faith Wood until reaching the cycleway where Pheasant x5 were in the stubble field. Heading back towards the carpark several Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Dunnock and Wren were in the hedges. A Song Thrush was perched on top of the bushes behind the car park.
The feeding station was surprisingly quiet considering the cold temperatures. In 20 minutes only eight birds appeared - Great Tit, Robin, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.
Quite a bit of activity around the car park when I arrived with Tree Sparrow, Dunnock and Robin on the tables. Lots of birds in the north side hedge and in the reeds beyond 8-10 Reed Bunting. A nice sight was a Stonechat by the sewage works compound fence. It's a while since I saw one here though previous winters it's been a regular spot.
The trees above the five-bar gate held Crows, Magpie, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Reed Bunting plus a GSW which headed off towards the feeding station.
I just followed the gravel track over to the lake not seeing much until reaching the lake itself. It was nice to see that two Goldeneye have turned up. Previous years I've seen them mid-November but these were the first two I've seen this winter. Everything else was pretty much the same apart from Shoveler which seem to have moved on. Maybe a few more Gadwall though I didn't count them.
A friendly Robin was waiting in a bush by the screen. I had to stand over it whilst it fed to stop four Magpies from muscling in. There were six Magpie along a very short stretch no doubt waiting to clear up after duck feeding.
Very little seen walking around to the hide where at least half a dozen Fieldfare and Redwing were feeding on berries above the hide. As I turned left and crossed the bridge more took off fro the trees totalling around 20 of each.
The alders by the pylon were filled with Goldfinch c.40. I could only spot three Redpoll today. Several Chaffinch were with them.
Little else seen walking though Faith Wood until reaching the cycleway where Pheasant x5 were in the stubble field. Heading back towards the carpark several Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Dunnock and Wren were in the hedges. A Song Thrush was perched on top of the bushes behind the car park.
The feeding station was surprisingly quiet considering the cold temperatures. In 20 minutes only eight birds appeared - Great Tit, Robin, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.