An afternoon at Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park
I'm not 100% sure what I saw is what I saw today but heres the story of my afternoon, I look forward to your comments.
A warm sunny afternoon made a welcome change to the weather we've had this week, I took the opportunity to spend the latter part of the afternoon at CBWP. I headed down the cycle path towards Greatham where I took the walk on the left hand side just after the treatment works. About half way round I decided I would have to stop, and a bridge looked just as good a place as any, an let the birds come to me if I was going to see anything. So far all I'd managed to identify,that wasn't a Wood Pigeon, Crow or Magpie, as it flew away from me was a Great Tit and Goldfinch. I waited for five minutes or so for the birds to forget about me and start making some noise, there were hungry young Whitethroats in a bush just by me. A little further along something caught my eye landing on the edge of another bush, it was a "little brown job" and that's all it was, very brown, not streaky or spotted or speckled but plain dark brown with a slightly darker head. I had my pocket bird book with me and looked through it and the only photo I could find that matched it was a Savi's Warber, the bird sat there a while so I could keep checking, so what do you think? Could it have been or is there something else it might be?
The walk is circular and ends back at the car park, from there I headed past the pond, and the pair of Mute Swans with just two signets left, to the Lake.
On the way there I saw a Yellow Hammer on a post by the railway lines in almost the same place I seen one on a previous visit, when I reached the Lake I spotted a Grasshopper Warbler in a nearby bush. The usual suspects occupied the Lake, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, a Pair of Mute Swans, I'd only seen one on previous visits, and a Blacked back gull. There was also a Little Grebe present which seems the norm for every bit of water I stop and look on locally.
Stu
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