Sunday 29 December 2013

What another update!

As the end of the year approaches , I am desperate to try and add another species to the patch list .So I was out on Saturday to try and do just that. First bird up was a Green Woodpecker so a good start .A small flock of 5 Meadow Pipits around the cattle bough was nice and the Skylark flock numbered 33 plus .There were also 3 Red Legged Partridge in the vicinity.
Overhead 2 Buzzards and 3 Raven passed over as did a Cormorant heading downriver. The floodwaters held small numbers of Black Headed ,Herring, and Common Gulls. 3Stock dove were in the usual place and a fine male Bullfinch in one of the hedgerows was a nice find.
It was winter thrushes which gave the numbers with 80 plus Fieldfare and 40 plus Redwing on pasture and it was great to see a flock of 70 plus Lapwings pass over towards Ashleworth ham .
Sunday dawned very cold with a sharp frost and there did not seem as many birds around.
The 3 Raven are still around the area as were the Meadow Pipits but today only 3 seen. I heard the Green Woodpecker but did not see it today
The Skylarks were down to 24 today maybe the frost having moved a few on. Stock Doves were 5 .
The old Orchard held at least 120 plus Redwing along with 60 plus Fieldfare. The best sight however was a herd of 9Mute Swans flying over the floods into the sunrise ,just stunning !

Friday 27 December 2013

A unexpected visitor.

A quick update ,after a very quiet but wet and very windy walk an unexpected visitor made a flyover visit to the patch in the form of a Greater Black Backed Gull  and yes it takes us to 85 species so far for the year  .Aside from that there was very little to write about with just 3 Skylark and 5 Meadow Pipit s seen .
Winter Thrushes were represented today by 45 plus Redwing and 65 plus Fieldfare also tagging along were 100 plus Starlings.
Apart from a hunting Kestrel there was very little of interest with most of the resident birds keeping their heads down in the blasting winds.

Thursday 26 December 2013

A Christmas update

Sorry for the lack of updates ,but it has a been a busy run up to the Christmas period. The harshest winter and the 100 days of snow are no where to be seen in fact it has been very mild and now very very wet ,with heavy rain ,gales etc so the area is once again under water.
As far as the birdlife things have settled down with most birds been seen being winterers. On the feeders we were graced by a pair of Blackcaps for a day (male, female), and all the usual suspects have been seen although still no Coal Tits and only one day with Redpolls and no still no Bramblings. There is still time though .
On the patch on Christmas day Willow and I were out early and saw 100 plus each of Redwing and Fieldfare on pasture. a group of Meadow Pipits 15 plus are wintering and we have a good flock of 38 plus Skylark were around on rough pasture.
Around the cattle feeders were 4 Pied Wagtail and 3 Red Legged Partridge .A Mistle Thrush and 2 Ravens passed over .2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were of interest.
Boxing Day morning was cold and clear ahead of another storm which is due, on the pasture land were 40  plus Skylark, 26 plus Meadow Pipits 4 Stock Dove and 3 Snipe feeding in a wet stubble field.
A Reed Bunting continues to winter here and there were 50 plus Black Headed Gulls on floodwater. A by now regular Raven passed over and 2 Buzzards ran the usual attacks by the local corvids.
Thrushes were represented by 58 plus Fieldfare ,20 plus Redwing and 8/9 Song Thrush including a flock of 7 .

Sunday 15 December 2013

Long overdue update.

It has been a few weeks since I updated the blog , to be honest I have been still walking the patch but there have been no birds of any consequence to write about.  So today I decided to make a big effort and try and find something worth writing about ,I failed ,this winter has been a huge disappointment so far , but then again it has been so mild far from the one predicted .
A good bird was a Chiffchaff in one of the hedgerows, the first for quite a while and a bird that is wintering with us.
 Thrush"s were a Mistle Thrush, 17 plus Fieldfare, 47 plus Redwing  and a dozen or so Blackbirds.
On the fields were 9 plus Skylark and a good 27 plus Meadow Pipits  , 3 Pied Wagtails and just 3 Stock Doves. It was odd to see a flock of 8 Magpies in the hedges. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker flew over . Raptors were a Buzzard which was worming and a hunting male Kestrel.
The year is limping to the end can we add one more species to the patch list for 2013 ? lets hope so but it would appear as likely as England winning the Ashes , but lets see .

Sunday 24 November 2013

The week that was

Autumn migration seems to have finished now so all we are awaiting are any movements brought on by colder weather etc. The few times I managed to walk on the patch resulted in the usual birds being seen in small numbers. The feeders in the garden are certainly quieter than this time last year. The highlight of the week was a calling Little Owl on Thursday afternoon at 4.15pm . it is a long time since I have heard or seen any of the above on the patch.
Saturday dawned cold and clear with a slight frost. The most obvious birds were Starling with at least 750 plus on the patch , they were feeding on pasture or in the old orchard . Fieldfares were evident with 75 plus along with 40 plus Redwing .
Meadow Pipits numbered 13 ,most were feeding around the cow feeding boughs, the boughs also attracted 2 male Reed Buntings ,but there may have actually been 3 as I saw another bird in the vicinity.
 Skylarks were on the stubble field with 15 plus over and around  and a lone Lapwing was feeding nearby.
The best of the rest were 2 Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, 2 Pied Wagtail and a Mistle Thrush .
 Sunday was a quiet cold grey day with the same birds around but in much lesser numbers , for example 50 plus each of Fieldfare and Redwing .The most outstanding feature of Sunday was the number of Blackbirds in all the hedges with at least 20 plus been seen and to be honest if I had counted them the number would be more substantial , there must of been an arrival overnight of continental birds to the area .
 It is very quiet at the moment so lets hope for some proper winter weather to bring us some birds . 

Sunday 17 November 2013

weekly update

The last week was very quite on the two times I managed to visit the patch, with just a few winter Thrush to report.
So Saturday it was a surprise to step out into a colder morning with a hint of frost .There had been an influx of Fieldfare with 200 plus in the area along with 100 plus Redwing feeding in the old orchard and in the hedges.
The star of the show was a male Peregrine which passed over causing panic in the Thrush ranks. 2 Raven were about they seem to becoming more regular nowadays.
A nice flock of 13 Stock Dove was nice to see.
The best of the rest were 4 Pied Wagtail ,2 Buzzard and 5 Meadow Pipit.
 Sunday was a still grey morning with low cloud but a warmer feel .The Fieldfare 200 plus and the Redwings 100 plus remained in the area .A Mistle Thrush also made itself known along with a noticeable increase in Blackbird numbers.
Meadow Pipits increased with 29 plus and there were 12 plus Skylarks on pasture. As I crossed one of the top fields a Snipe exploded from the long grass. A Green Woodpecker called as did a Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Stock Dove were in the usual place.
The best of the rest were a Buzzard, a small flock of 10 Chaffinch, a nice total of 12 Pied Wagtail and circa 50 plus Starling.
 Colder weather is forecast for next week so lets see what that brings.

Sunday 10 November 2013

Sunny Sunday

After overnight rain Sunday dawned cold and sunny, alas no signs of any Redpoll today ! .It was obvious that were some birds on the move ,winter Thrushes were more obvious of late with 65 plus Fieldfare and 55 plus Redwing feeding on berries in the hedgerows ,there were more Blackbirds of late many being very flighty ,so some Scandanavian visitors have arrived.
Meadow Pipits at 10 were still here maybe they will stay the winter, whereas it would seem that there has been an influx of Skylarks with 36 overhead or on pastureland .
It was nice to see 2 male Yellowhammer together ,this follows yesterdays male the first for quite a few months. The winter flock of Linnet remains with 140 plus in three flocks on stubble fields. A small flock of 3 Bullfinch were in the hedges .
 The highlite for me was the sight of a flock of 67 Woodpigeon migrating high north to south , its great seeing migration in action.
The best of the rest were 2 Buzzard, 3 Stock Dove, Green Woodpecker, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker ,Red Legged Partridge,2 Pied Wagtail.
 A nice walk with some good birds ,if it could just get a little colder.

Saturday 9 November 2013

Redpoll invasion !

It has been 10 days since I have updated this blog but in my defence I have been in Holland with work ,so it was up and at them this morning to see if anything has turned up on the patch.
The walk started off well with a mixed flock of 20 each of Redwing  and Fieldfare feeding on apple trees next door , more Fieldfares passed over the walk .
The small wintering flock of Meadow Pipits remain with about 15 feeding around a cattle feeding  bough ,also 3 Skylarks were in the same area .On the stubble fields the Linnet flock remains with 140 plus today ,there was also a male Yellowhammer there ,a rare visitor nowadays.
It was when I was nearly home that two finch passed overhead ,the call alerted me at first and I soon saw that they were Redpoll , they dropped onto the top of a Silver Birch tree giving nice views when all of a sudden a flock of 30 plus joined them ,this smashes the patch record. They soon moved off but I have stocked up my niger feeders and Black sunflower seeds so lets see if they return.
The best of the rest were a Buzzard ,Pied Wagtail , Greater Spotted Woodpecker .
With first frost forecast tonight lets see what the morning brings. 

Tuesday 29 October 2013

The past weekend

Sorry about the late update, but time seemed to have run away with me over the last few days. A quick update on a short walk on Thursday yielded The Snipe, but it flew off high to the north and I have not seen it since.
Saturday dawned with a cooler feel as the season  should feel and a Mistle Thrush passed overhead south as soon as I left the house. Fieldfare passed west with 73 plus in two flocks and Redwing were in the hedges with 23 been seen ,there also were a few more Blackbirds than of late so maybe some winter visitors have arrived.
Meadow Pipits were passing over with a bit more vigour with 20 plus and Skylarks only numbered 3 and Pied Wagtails only 4 , so it was nice to see a small flock of 3 Bullfinch pass over , just ordinary ones not sadly the northern giants .
A call from high above again alerted me to a Golden Plover as it passed south west, again just a single bird maybe all the recent records relate to a single bird ? .A sign that winter is on its way was seen when a flock of 45 plus Lapwing landed on pasture ,the first flock of the season.  The Reed Bunting was still in the usual place ,resting and feeding up before it moves on.
Starling continue to trickle south with 80 plus and the first Buzzard for a day or so was welcome .
So out early Sunday ahead of the big storm and it was very calm ,with no wind and a silent feel to the atmosphere .There were a few birds on the move and 100 plus Starling, 43 plus Fieldfare,17 Redwing over passing south to south west.
 Meadow Pipits were more plentiful with 27 plus about and so were Pied Wagtail with 8 passing over or feeding in the fields , they were joined by 13 Skylark.
Another Mistle Thrush passed south and 5 Raven passed to the east calling as they went. Our bird of the day was a superb male Peregrine that went towards the river meadows .
3 Lapwing came in from high above the Malverns ,vis mig in action and a lesson that we should all keep an eye skywards at this time of year.
The best of the rest were a Buzzard, Stock Dove, a flock of 23 Black Headed Gulls and a small flock of 6 Linnet.

Friday 25 October 2013

Thursday sunshine

A superb morning, with a slight chill in the air and mist in the river valley early on. The break in the weather appeared at first to have allowed some  birds to move ,but  this soon fizzled out after about an hour.
There were 2/3 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers about and 2 Green Woodpeckers made themselves known with their calls. Winter  thrushes were thin on the ground and overhead today with only 3 Redwing and two groups of Fieldfare 4 moving high west and 15 over Tirley hill. There were also 2 flyover Song Thrush . About 200 plus Starling were in the area some flying over east to south west at height and others feeding on pasture.
Passage of Skylarks with 28 and Meadow Pipits with also 28 carried on ,but only 4 Pied Wagtails today.
In the pasture fields our visiting Snipe was still feeding in its usual place and a calling Golden Plover came from the north and passed over towards the river meadows . The first small flock of Common Gulls were feeding on sheep fields (5) , with them 8 Lesser Black Backed Gulls.
In the hedges were a Chiffchaff with roving Tit flock and a flock of 6 Bullfinch which was a great sight. Another Reed Bunting was found although I think it may be the same bird as the other day. A Jay confirmed that it is  Autumn  as it appears that this is  the only time we see them here.
The best of the rest were 3 Red Legged Partridge, and 2 Stock Dove.
One final point I urge everyone to read the latest report from Birdlife Malta on the killing of our migrants as they pass over the hell hole that is Malta, the latest reports talk of the shooting down of 12 Eagles as a mixed flock of raptors passed over the islands .Boycott the island ,sign the petition , write to your MEP , we cannot allow this to continue ,it is not sport it is just pure vandalism. Help stop it now.

Wednesday 23 October 2013

What ! a midweek update

Yes that's right a week off and after a trip to Portland Bill on a Monday (complete washout, hightlite a Merlin ), it was back to the patch on Tuesday.
The weather is very mild and very windy ,the winds from the south and south west with biblical rain ,the ground is now soaked through and migrants are thin on the ground.
Meadow Pipits numbered 17 and Skylark 21 ,most looking like winter visitors. After our first Snipe of last week it was great to see another in the same field .
A Green Woodpecker flew through the rain as did 60 plus Fieldfare although there were only 10 Redwing . There was an influx of 200 plus Starling feeding in an old orchard ,most seem to be flycatching ! .
A bonus was finding a Chiffchaff near a farm pond the first I have seen for a week or so .Linnets numbered 30 plus on a stubble field , I tried to find a Brambling but no luck !
The best of the rest were 6 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
So I was out by 9am on Wednesday and the rain had relented although heavy showers still fell ,but at least the sun shone a little.
Birds seem to moving again and the first birds over were Fieldfare ,a flock of 22 moving south . The total in the end was 30 plus. Skylarks were moving with 55 plus over south along with a Mistle Thrush and 12 Meadow Pipits over .
There were another 2 Snipe on pasture along with just 3 Pied Wagtail. A commotion was caused when a male Sparrowhawk tried to remove the head off a Meadow Pipit, he missed but only just!.
The Linnet flock has built up to 80 plus on the stubble fields. We seem to be having a slight influx of Chiffchaff with 3 being found today ,1 being with a flock of 15 Long Tailed Tits.  
Also seen were 4 Stock Dove ,2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker ,and a flock of 10 Goldfinch.
When will we get some "proper "Autumn weather.

Sunday 20 October 2013

plastic everywhere!

So after a wet night, the really mild weather remains, the west wind in stark contrast from last week.
A glance upwards picked out a Cormarant flying south. A large formation of Canada Geese flying upriver followed by 2 Greylag got my attention, the latter being part of a feral population that lives on the river meadows and not "wild " as would be hoped for.
The Starling passage carried on from yesterday with 117 plus passing south west, also over were a flock of 29 Redwing that passed over to the west flying fast and in silence .
After a while a flock of 41 Fieldfare appeared from over Tirley hill followed by a small flock of 6 which landed on pasture.
Overhead the small passage of Pied Wagtails (9 ), and Meadow Pipits ( 8) carried on from the last few days . Skylarks were less numerous than of late with just 7 seen today.
The one bright spot in an otherwise poor day was a flock of 60 plus Linnet on a  stubble field and a distant soaring Sparrowhawk .On a recently harvested field a large flock of feral pigeons were feeding ,so with the plastic geese and the plastic pigeons not a day for the purist.
Lets hope for better next week as I am on holiday  !

Saturday 19 October 2013

come on in 84 your time is up.

Yep after weeks and weeks finally I managed to find the no 84 for the patch this year. It came on Thursday when I flushed  a Snipe from pasture , a nice way to get to 84 species so far this year . The rest of the week has been really quiet , with the weather becoming very mild and with southerly winds it has felt more like Spring than Autumn. The birds have reflected this with no Winter Thrushes at all and just the highlites being a calling Tawny Owl ,a couple of Ravens and a good number of Skylarks on Thursday with 40 plus being present.
So when I went out on Saturday morning I was not expecting to get much in return.
So the first bird was a Raven which called as it passed north. It soon became obvious that Skylarks were moving and in the end 45 plus passed over or were on pasture, that being said only I could only muster 9  Meadow Pipits a poor total. Pied Wagtail were about with 12 in various places but I could not turn any of them into White ,shame really.
A couple of nice sightings this morning were a Wheatear on a dung hill ,getting rather late now and a male Reed Bunting in a hedgerow another migrant . A small flock of 20 pus Linnet were on stubble and it was then that I noticed a small trickle of Starling passing south in the end about 100 plus were counted ,with them 5 Redwing passed over and 4 Fieldfare called as they did likewise. As I was near home a flock of 25 Fieldfare dropped onto pasture great to see ,I have a real passion for our winter Thrushes after seeing them in their summer home last year when I visited northern Finland last year.
4 Mistle Thrush were about and a small flock of 3 Bullfinch  passed over .
The best of the rest were Kestrel, Buzzard, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Stock Dove and a couple of flyover Song Thrush.

Sunday 13 October 2013

Redwing passage

Sunday dawned grey , with light rain and a gentle northerly wind . I was not out as early as I should of been and after a quick scan of what had arrived along the east coast yesterday I was thinking that I may have missed out.
Redwings were still passing over with 233 plus passing over south to south west , all coming from an easterly direction and all in a hurry to get where they were going.
Meadow Pipits were few in number with only 7 plus been around today and Skylarks only numbered 12 today ,but Pied Wagtails put in a decent showing with 7 passing over.
A call from high above alerted me to a/some Golden Plover which were passing over high in the murk, but they were hidden in the low cloud base , these were soon followed by 9 distant duck in from high north , I soon realised that they were Wigeon, the first of the winter , they decended into the river meadows .
A "charm" of 21 Goldfinch were in the hedges but in the strong wind it appeared that most other small passerines were keeping a low profile
The raptor flag was carried by 3 Buzzard and a female Sparrowhawk which attempted to take the head off a perching crow. It missed but gave the crow one hell of a shock.
A very distant flock of 30  Thrush were hard to pin down but looked very like Fieldfare, another couple of Mistle Thrush looked like our winter visitors rather than transient birds.
The best of the rest were 2 Red Legged Partridge, and 4 Stock Dove.
So there was no Yellow Browed Warbler or even a Yellow Browned Warbler , sorry about the error yesterday must learn to read it before I push the publish button.

Saturday 12 October 2013

The week that was

Another week over and as normal I could only manage a couple of visits during the week but did see another Wheatear on a fence post and the first of the winter visitors  with a flock of 18 Redwing which passed through on Thursday. Away from the patch whilst at football training watching my son I saw a flock of 7 Swallow belting southwards and a flock of 40 plus Pied Wagtail.
So having seen on the internet the massive arrivals of birds on the east coast on Friday and the prevailing winds on Saturday I was on the patch on Saturday early. As I stepped out I heard a Pied Wagtail pass over and a great surprise was a BADGER  which ran up the lane amazing ,especially with the cull taking place locally.
We passed up the lane and realised it was quiet , just too quiet then we heard the hunting horns and lo and behold once again the hunt was out again cubbing but this time I just walked across the fields with Willow on the lead and stood and stared at them through my binos ,they realised I was not going any where and eventually moved out the area. They are breaking the law plain and simple.
The wind was a very strong northerly , and it soon became obvious that this had brought with it a bit of vis mig as they say. Redwings passed over from the east and 227 plus were counted in two hours as well as a single flock of 65 Fieldfare from high eastwards. Around 200 Starling were about and a total of 8 Mistle Thrush were obvious migrants including a flock of 6.
The Meadow Pipit passage has now dwindled at the moment only 4 been seen today , Pied Wagtail numbered 9 and 18 plus Skylark were on pasture.
The back up crew consisted of 30 plus Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 80 plus Jackdaw, and a couple of Buzzard. Lets see what tomorrow brings , a Yellow Browned Warbler would be nice although I have just seen that at Falsterbo in southern Sweden 250,000 Wood Pigeons passed over yesterday so something like that would be nice, still you can dream !

Saturday 5 October 2013

Unfufilled promise.

So in the week when work as usual got in the way of the birding and when in the brief visits to the patch giving me a male Peregrine swooping at a flock of Linnets ,male Sparrowhawk, overhead passage of Meadow Pipits , the final House Martins, Swallows , Raven and calling Tawny Owls I had a right to be allowed to think that the usual  survey of the patch on a Saturday was going to be a busy affair.
Well it was a massive fail on that point , it being one of the quietest walks for some time. The main sighting was a large number of Stock Doves feeding on the recently harvested corn fields with well over 70 plus being seen. A few Autumn migrants were about with the first Autumn Jay heading south and an influx of 5 Mistle thrush and 5 Greater Spotted Woodpecker  been seen . A flock of 27 Linnet passed south and a small passage of 6 Pied Wagtail ,16 Skylark passed over. Only 6 Meadow Pipits were seen today ,after flocks of 60 plus were seen all week.
In the hedges were 2 Bullfinch, male Sparrowhawk, and 4 Chiffchaff.
Lets hope for better tomorrow.

Sunday 29 September 2013

Friday and Sunday

Not a lot to report over the last two visits ,was out by 8am on Friday and in general the feel of the patch was very quiet.
Pied Wagtails continue to trickle south , 5 seen heading south.
In the hedges were 8 Chiffchaff but very little else. Overhead 30 plus Skylark and 50 plus Meadow Pipits were followed by just 11 Swallow today.
The saviour of a generally quite walk was a  superb Wheatear found in a recently seeded field.
The best of the rest were Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 102 Starling, 3 Buzzard, Kestrel, Grey Heron over. Sunday was more of the same really , with 2 Tawny Owls calling at 4.40am .So by 7.30am I was out with Willow.
On pasture were 40 plus Meadow Pipits today and Pied Wagtails still keep passing over with 7 today. 54 Swallow over with the largest flock being 40 plus. In the fields were 20 plus Skylark and a flock of 60 plus Rook.
 In the hedges were just 3 Chiffchaff , Bullfinch , and 3 Linnet. As I was almost home I saw a very distant flock of birds , they looked very like Fieldfare but were so distant I could not make a firm ID. Lets hope that the East winds which are dropping all sorts of goodies all over the east coast , bring something nice over to us.

Thursday 26 September 2013

Thursday Amble

A day off, east winds , low cloud ,you just gotta hit the local patch and it is nearly one year ago when we were graced by a Great Grey Shrike , so with that in mind Willow and myself were out at 8am .
It was overhead that was where the main action was and in a 3 hour slot 6 Skylark ,70 plus Swallow a flock of 23 House Martin ,23 plus Meadow Pipit , 8 Pied Wagtail ,8 Linnet  moved south .Not a flood but a slight trickle.
 In the hedges were 8 Chiffchaff (including singing birds), a very brief Blackcap, Bullfinch and several Passover Goldfinch .

2 Raven moved south west , and a female Sparrowhawk was about looking for breakfast as was a female Kestrel. The only other raptor was a Buzzard.
The build up of Starling has started, maybe a few have arrived from the continent ? as there was a flock of 300 plus on pasture ,the largest number for quite awhile.
The best of the rest were A Green Woodpecker, Red Legged Partridge. The patch total stays on 83 for the year so if we are going to add to that then the next few weeks will be important . 

Sunday 22 September 2013

Does the law count ?

An odd title I know, but I will come to that in a moment. This last week has been notable for the almost constant passage of Swallows passing south ,only a few House Martins kept them company . The peak came on Friday when I think maybe up to 300 an hour must of gone by as every time I looked out there were flocks of 20 plus passing by. But on Saturday evening when in transit to a social there were at least 800 plus Swallow moving downriver, a great sight . Then on Sunday evening  the first House Martins were seen for quite a few days when 40 plus passed over with 60 plus Swallow .
So the patch itself continues to show signs of the approaching change in the seasons. The walk on Saturday was short and very much curtailed and I think it was looking good when 62 Meadow Pipits exploded from pasture land .
Overhead the only Swallow were a paltry 2 , most having passed through the day before, but I was still hopeful as it was only 7.30am .It was then I heard the first hunting horn and the sound of Fox hounds ,I stupidly thought that perhaps they were exercising  the dogs ,but no they were actually hunting.They were engaged in the wonderful pursuit of cubbing, this is where they try to kill the newborn cubs, against the law and just plain wrong . Does wealth and privilege mean that you can choose to ignore a law just because you do not like it ? I think not and it makes me puke that these people think they are above the law just because they own a farm or a friggin horse.
Anyway back to the birds , in the hedges were 2 Bullfinch  and a flock of 10 Goldfinch , 2 Chiffchaff were with a mixed Tit flock.
The best birds were the first 2 Lapwing of the Autumn which paused briefly before flying off towards the river meadows .There were also a flock of 33 plus Stock Dove , they must be migrants as we usually only see 6 or so .
 4 Pied Wagtails passed south west .
The best of the rest were Buzzard, 2 Skylark on pasture ,Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and the star of the show a superb Fox which emerged not 20 yards in front of Willow and I and trotted off in the opposite direction to the landred gentry  who were intent in killing him . So it was 1 nil to the Fox .
Sunday it was back to normal and today there were plenty of birds moving south . In two hours there were plenty of signs of migration.
A  flock of 26 Skylark on stubble was nice and a further 7 passed straight over south. Meadow Pipits increased to 110 plus  and 50 plus Swallow zipped over south west.
 In the hedges were 10 Chiffchaff , a male Blackcap and a Common Whitethroat. A flock of 9 Linnet were near the Meadow Pipits, we should see them increase as the Autumn moves on.
Overhead a Grey Heron passed to the south west and a Mute Swan passed over. My attention was drawn by a calling Raven as it headed upriver.
 The best of the rest were a flyover Pied Wagtail , Green Woodpecker ,Greater Spotted Woodpecker , 8 Red Legged Partridge and 20 plus Stock Dove   

Monday 16 September 2013

weekend revue

On the back of the rain storm  Friday and after reading of the massive fall around Slimbridge after the rain I was out early Saturday morning in the hope that they may be a few migrants in our area.
The first thing that was evident was the number of Chiffchaff with 13 been seen or heard, but in truth there were bound to have been around. It was good to see 2 Lesser Whitethroat and a couple of Blackcap feeding on elderberries . Also in the hedges were 1 Bullfinch , another Reed Bunting on wires above a beet field, the second of the Autumn.
The first gathering of Starling are apparent with 35 on wires , they should increase over the next few days or so.
It was overhead that stole the show with 2 Meadow Pipits south, also 59 House Martin south west, 96 Swallow south , and 50 plus Lesser Black Backed Gulls in all directions !
Around the fields were 3 Skylark ,3 Stock Dove ,Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Red Legged Partridge and 2 Buzzard  .
 So Sunday I was out again early , but it turned out to be quieter, but Swallows were still heading south west with 48 passing low with haste, with them were 16 House Martin. A larger count of 17 Meadow Pipits over southwards  and the first Linnets went south west with a small flock of 4 been seen .
2 Raven passed over low calling as they went. In the hedges were a Common Whitethroat and just 5 Chiffchaff today , sometimes it what you do not see not just what you do that gives you a sight of migration in action. Starling increased to 42, and in the fields 5 Skylark were present .
Also present were 2 Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, and 2 Stock Dove.

Friday 13 September 2013

The past week

As usual with work I have only managed to get out onto the patch for two very brief periods during the week , but Summer has turned to Autumn now and a constant feature has been the overhead passage of Swallows and House Martins moving overhead in a south to south westerly direction .After the first flock of Meadow Pipits last weekend on Thursday a flock of over 60 were feeding a stubble field , many of these birds will be from Iceland and northern Europe and Britain and some will end up in Iberia for the winter months.
Any way I managed a small circuit of the patch on Friday afternoon and in a 90 minute period 120  plus Swallow along with 30 plus House Martin passed southwards. Only 4 Meadow Pipits today passed overhead calling as they went south.
In the hedges were  a late Willow Warbler and 4 Chiffchaff , Green and Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a flock of 100 plus Woodpigeon ,no doubt some of the afore mentioned being migrant moving south . A female Kestrel and 2 Buzzards made up the birds of prey .
 The weather forecast is for rain etc this weekend ,so I am going to get up early tomorrow and see if that drops in any visitors in as they make their way to their winter quarters

Saturday 7 September 2013

All change

After 3 weeks off the patch due to holidays ,today was the first opportunity to cover the patch fully. As I had only managed a couple of short midweek visits when there had been a few good birds around I was thinking that I may have missed a few migrants when I was away.
The weather forecast promised northerly winds and rain showers so I was hopeful when I set out this morning , The weather was bright blue skies and a gentle breeze.
 It was obvious that the seasons are changing with the first flock of 8 Meadow Pipits heading over south calling.
In the hedges were 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Whitethroat,  also  a female Reed Bunting was a nice surprise, not a bird we see a lot around here. It was good to find 2 Blackcaps feeding on elderberries, all these warblers will be feeding up before they head south , some will be well on their way now.
Birds of prey were a male Sparrowhawk, female Kestrel and 4 Buzzard, also a Raven passed over.
Overhead 22 plus House Martins and 16 plus Swallows passed over ( good numbers earlier in the week ,so good evidence that most of the birds we are seeing here are from elsewhere .
Best of the rest were a Bullfinch and 7 Stock Dove, a Comarant passed upriver.
Normal service is now resumed !

Sunday 11 August 2013

A new day and a slightly altered cast of birds as the slow progression into Autumn continues. Overhead 20 plus House Martins and 9 Swallows were feeding and buzzing around the local nest sites.
In the hedges evidence of a bit of migration with 3 Chiffchaff, 4 Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 very brightly coloured Willow Warbler and a good count of 6 Spotted Flycatcher , the usual 5 family members in their usual haunts and another individual feeding from another hedgerow. A male Sparrowhawk  made a run over the hedges .
 A Cormorant flew upriver and 3 Buzzards including the vocal juvenile were soaring about. The first adult Pied Wagtail for some while paused briefly on overhead wires.
 The best of the rest were 7 Stock Dove, Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker,2 Skylark.

Saturday 10 August 2013

Saturday morning

I was out by 7.30 am this morning to see what was passing through the patch as the slow march into Autumn continues.
The first bird heard was a Bullfinch calling , then a Greater Spotted  Woodpecker flew over so all in all good early signs.
Overhead there were 40 plus House Martin ,it was good to see adults feeding juveniles on the wing , only 8 Swallows though which was disappointing. The first Yellow Wagtail for awhile flew over calling as it headed south , this was soon followed by a Yellowhammer heading in the same direction, the second bird used to be a resident here but I have not seen any for quite awhile now, local farmers please take note.
A Grey Heron passed down the river valley ,there seems to be a few around at the moment .In the hedges were 3 Whitethroat ,female Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler , 2 Chiffchaff and a good count of 5 Spotted Flycatcher , the latter are still the local family and it is good to see that they have had a successful breeding season, especially as I seemed to have had a lot of fruitless hours looking for them this Summer.
The local Buzzards have produced 1 youngster and he is calling all the time in a vain attempt to get fed.
Around the fields were 9 Stock Dove, 2 Skylark, Green Woodpecker, Red Legged Partridge , female Kestrel, 5 plus Linnet over and the first juvenile Pied Wagtail in ages .
 I t is nice to report that the blog is now on the Tirley village website, so a big welcome to our local readers and remember if you see anything and want to report or are not sure of what it is ,just ask in the comments section. Also try to not be too tidy in the gardens and fields, leave a little room for our feathered friends.

Sunday 4 August 2013

Sunday 4th August

The Autumnal feel was more evident with a coolish breeze and rain setting in , the birds are beginning to look as if the summer is at and end and that they are preparing to start their long southwards trek.
 The first good count of House Martins were about today with 62 plus ,but just 5 Swallow s.
In the hedges were 4 Spotted Flycatcher , 3 Whitethroat, 4 Chiffchaff and 2 Linnet. A Raven passed west and there were 3 Buzzards about .
Another Cormarant passed upriver and 5 Stock Dove fed on the ripening Maize.
 The best of the rest were 3 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker.

Saturday 3rd August

A mid morning visit to the patch was never turn up anything startling , but with the faintest hint of Autumn in the air who knows !
Overhead 15 plus House Martin and 7 Swallow were around  , but they soon wished they were"nt when a fantastic Hobby powered in from the west .
 In the hedges there were just 3 Chiffchaff 7 Linnet and 2 Whitethroat. Around the fields were 3 Buzzard , female Kestrel the first flock of post breeding Woodpigeon and 2 Stock Dove .
A Cormarant flew upriver.

Saturday 27 July 2013

Good news with the removal of the herd of ASBO cows from one of the fields on the patch it was the first time this summer that I could take some time and actually check to see if the Spotted Flycatchers had bred in the same place as last few years , the good news is that within a few minutes I could see that they had returned as I was greeted with the sight of 3 Juvenile and one adult feeding from the usual dead tree in the hedgerow.
Signs of Autumn are now evident in the bird sighting with an influx of 11 plus Chiffchaff , Willow Warbler ,2 Blackcap , and 9 plus Whitethroat in the hedges.
Overhead there were 7 plus House Martin and 8 plus Swallow (local birds), and another Grey Heron passed over ,also 1 Pied Wagtail did likewise .
 Around the fields were 3 Buzzard, Red Legged Partridge and 2 Skylark and 7 Stock Dove ,a nice sighting was a flock of 15 plus House Sparrow feeding on maize.
 The best of the rest were 5 plus Linnet ,Green Woodpecker ,2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker , and 1 Brown Hare.

Wednesday 24 July 2013

With a early start at work ,I managed an early finish so I was able to get round the patch just after 10am. It was quiet but there are a few signs of Summer turning to Autumn.
Overhead a small party of 7 Swift passed south and the first good count of the Autumn of Swallow were seen with 24 plus and a supporting cast of 10 plus House Martin were also seen. A Grey Heron also drifted east .
The only raptor today were 5 Buzzard including 3 together. In the hedges were 5 Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff and a skulking Garden Warbler . Linnets passed over in ones and twos and Goldfinches seem to be noticeable.
The best of the rest were 3 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, a flock of 10 House Sparrow, 4 Skylark . The patch will start to hot up soon so will I pass the magic number of 91species ? lets hope.
 

Monday 22 July 2013

Sunday dawned cooler with a humid feeling and today Autumn migration started with 110 plus Swift moving east . Due to holiday preperations the morning walk was short so I decided to cover the patch later on after the heat. It was quiet but it is good to report a good number of juvenile birds around .
The hedges were quiet with 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroat,2 Blackcap, and the first small numbers of Linnet with 6 been seen.
Overhead were 19 plus Swallow 8 plus House Martin and 1 Swift which went south, also were 7 plus Stock Dove .
Raptors seen were a male Kestrel, a female Sparrowhawk seen carrying prey and 2 Buzzard.
The best of the rest were 6 Skylark ,Red Legged Partridge and 2 juvenile  Green Woodpecker. 

Sunday 14 July 2013

Sunday , out a bit later and in truth a tad quieter , although a couple of nice sighting were had. The first one being a superb Hobby that was seen mobbing a Buzzard (2 were seen),
In the hedges were 3 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 7 Whitethroat.
Overhead were 12 plus Swallow, 5 plus House Martin, 4 Skylark, 1 Raven, also the insomniac Tawny Owl called a couple of times .
A male singing Yellow Wagtail was nice.
The best of the rest were 3 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker , Stock Dove, 1 Brown Hare, 1 Fox.
 The patch total is now 83                           

Saturday 13 July 2013

Back on the patch early as it forecast to be very hot today (Saturday), 5 Blackcap were still making themselves heard , and a good total of 4 Greater Spotted Woodpecker were about. My attention was drawn to a nice flock of 4 Raven that flew towards Tirley hill at 7.30am , signs that they have had a good breeding season.
Around the hedges were a great count of 13 plus Whitethroat , 5 Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and the Willowchiff was calling today. Also heard a Bullfinch calling and a few Goldfinch and Linnet were letting themselves been known.
Overhead 15 plus House Martin were dotted about and 16 plus Swallow  were at breeding sites. An odd record was a Tawny Owl which called at 7.30am quite an odd 5time !
2 Green Woodpecker flew over together and a Curlew was heard calling from the direction of the river meadows.
Best of the rest were 4 Skylark, Buzzard.
Over the week the garden has been graced by the visits of at least 2 Spotted Flycatchers which have been catching prey within feet of us , fantastic !

Monday 8 July 2013

Just a quick update, very hot and sunny and the best bird so far in the garden , a superb Spotted Flycatcher hunting in the garden ,so close you can hear its beak snap shut, total magic !

Sunday 7 July 2013

sunday 7/7/2013

What seemed like an age ago, I was finally back on the patch today. But first a couple of updates , the year is turning full circle with a flock of 15 Swallow on wires being the first sign of Autumn ! . On the patch itself a calling Little Owl was nice ,the first for quite awhile.
Sunday morning and I was out early , the local pair of Yellow Wagtails were in full swing with both birds seen carrying food.
 The hedges were busy with 6 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, a calling Willow Warbler, a whooping 10 Whitethroat , and best of all a singing Garden Warbler .
 Overhead 10 plus Swallow and 15 plus House Martin were nice and 3 Buzzards and a male Kestrel got the raptors on the board.
In the fields were 4 Skylark, Red Legged Partridge, and 11 Stock Dove , also a Brown Hare showed briefly.
A  Cormarant  flew downriver .
 The patch list now stands at 82

Friday 28 June 2013

Wednesday was just a fantastic to be out , and with news of a HOOPOE just up the road and me being on holiday I was out and ready to add the above to the patch list, needless to say that did not happen !
In the hedges were 4 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and a nice female Bullfinch .
Swallows were more numerous than of late with 17 plus around but only 2 House Martin .Raptors were both male and female Kestrel and 3 Buzzards soaring overhead. The year showed the first sign of turning with the sighting of a flock of 10 plus Long Tailed Tits including a number of juvenile  birds .Other odds and sods were a Green Woodpecker, 4 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail (first for quite awhile),7 plus Stock Dove
 

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Just a quick update ,its Tuesday and I have a day off , so it was a quick jaunt around the patch. It was a hot summer day and the usual suspects were around with singles of all the expected species and to be honest I was not going to put an update on but with the last birds seen being a family group of Lesser Whitethroats a quick update was necessary .

Saturday 22 June 2013

Windy ,cloudy and quite cool, another high summer day in Tirley , but sometimes the patch comes up with some really weird surprise" s and today was one of those days when at 8.30am I was shocked to see a Common Tern flying north towards the Malverns  over a wheat field , a great way to bring the patch list to 81.
In the hedges were 3 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat ,a  singing Willow Warbler and just 2 Chiffchaff .
Overhead 8 Plus Swallow, 7 plus House Martin and a party of 7 Swift which drifted south west put in an appearance , also a family party of 3 Raven.
Birds of prey were 3 Buzzard and a pair of Kestrel at a nest site were welcome.
Skylarks are having a good year here this year with 5 singing today ,a male Yellow Wagtail flew over.
 The best of the rest were 4 Stock Dove, 2 Linnet and a Red Legged Partridge .
 The patch list now stands at 81.

Sunday 16 June 2013

Saturday was overcast , with rain and wind and the birds reflected the weather and my mood .In the hedges 4 Blackcap, 5 Whitethroat, 4 Chiffchaff and the Willow Warbler made themselves known.
Overhead not much was happening with just 7 House Martin , 1 Swift and 5 Swallow over,also a fine male Sparrow hawk .
Skylarks showed well with 7 being seen or heard it is a good year for them .I also found a Greater Spotted Woodpeckers nest with the parents feeding young .
The best of the rest were female Kestrel ,4 Sock Dove, 5 Greater Spotted Woodpecker (this included the youngsters), Red Legged Partridge, 2 Linnet .
Sunday I was out early as my son gave us the privilege of a "sleepover", The weather was better and so were the birds. Overhead there were 30 plus House Martins and 15 plus Swift ,also 8 plus Swallow were about.
 In the hedges were a whooping 10 Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff and the still singing Willow Warbler .
A very smart female Yellow Wagtail was feeding around cattle, a calling  Cuckoo was nice to hear.
Two unexpected species were a Jay and then a Mistle Thrush  both of these are not birds that I see until early Autumn normally .
The Greater Spotted Woodpeckers are still feeding young and I saw 2 other birds around the patch . In the fields were 7 Skylark and 3 Red Legged Partridge and both male and female Kestrel.
The best of the rest were 6 Stock Dove, Buzzard and  at least 4 Linnet

Sunday 9 June 2013

It was back out on the patch again and really it was more of the same although the cold north wind I think most birds stay  in cover.
 In the hedges were 6 Blackcap, a good count of least 7 plus Whitethroat including a male and female carrying food, just 3 Chiffchaff also with one carrying food .
 Overhead there were 9 plus House Martin, 6 plus Swallow and 2 Swift, also a candidate for a late migrant in the form of a summer plumage Black Headed Gull heading north , not a bird I see in the summer months normally.
From the distant river meadows a Curlew was once again calling and our pair of Yellow Wagtails were out and about.
Skylarks appear to be having a good year with at least 6 being heard or seen.
The best of the rest were 1 Red Legged Partridge, 3 Buzzard, 4 Stock Dove 20 plus Lesser Black Backed Gulls Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Herring Gull.
 The patch list remains stubbornly static at the moment on 80

Saturday 8 June 2013

Out on the patch this morning , although it was not as early as I had wanted as I over slept ! Quite warm with a few clouds but a nagging north breeze.
Overhead 8 plus House Martins and 5 plus Swallow were feeding, local breeders from the village, Swallow numbers are down on last year.
Bird song has diminished somewhat or at least today it seemed to have and in the hedges were 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap and 6 Whitethroat.
A great surprise was a Curlew calling from the river meadows and the local pair of Yellow Wagtails were about .There was also a healthy show of Skylarks with at least 6 singing . There was also at least 3 Linnet over and a few more Goldfinch than of late.
 Around 15 Lesser Black Backed Gulls and 1 Herring Gull passed over north .
The best of the rest were a female Kestrel, 2 Buzzard, 2 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
Later on after an unsuccessful stake out of last years Spotted Flycatcher area, 2 Birds were in the hedge right next to the cottage, so maybe they have just moved some where else, although it has not been easy to observe the usual haunt as the field is full of a herd of ASBO cows who are given to charging at you

Sunday 2 June 2013

With the pressures of work it has been nearly a week since I covered the patch. Having read the Portland website and seen they had 800 to 1000 Spotted Flycatcher yesterday and was hopeful that I would be able to find our pair, but they still have not reappeared this year ,that is a real downer .
It was a great day , quite warm so I was hoping for a few late migrants.
In the hedges today were 4 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 7 Whitethroat , the Lesser Whitethroats seem to have moved on. .Raptors today were a Sparrowhawk, male Kestrel and a pair of Buzzard.
Overhead Swallows numbered 25 plus with 9 plus House Martin and a single Swift over.
It is good to report that we have a pair of Yellow Wagtail on the patch , great birds !  There were at least 4 singing Skylarks which is always good to hear.
The best of the rest were 7 Stock Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Red Legged Partridge and a flock of 17 Lesser Black Backed gulls on pasture.  

Saturday 25 May 2013

Its been a few days since I walked the patch , so it was an early start to see what was about. A couple of hightlites when in the garden during the week were a calling Cuckoo and a few Swifts over.
Anyway back to today ,The first bird I saw was a a Sparrowhawk as it made a pass at a couple of Starlings.
In the hedges there were 7 Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap 4 Chffchaff, 1 singing Willow Warbler and it or another bird which looked like a Willow Warbler but sang with a Chiffchaff start but ended up as Willow Warbler,was this a Willow/Chaff  ?
Overhead we had 15 plus House Martins and 6 plus Swallow, also a Cormarant which headed upriver , also 3 Buzzard soaring.
It is nice to report up to 8 Linnets in the hedges , these birds are summer visitors here and dissappear in the  winter .A  Yellow wagtail called as it flew overhead.
The best of the rest were 7 Stock Dove, Kestrel, 5 Red Legged Partridge, a flock of 21 Lesser Black Backed Gull on a field, and at least 9 Skylark , 1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a Brown Hare

Monday 20 May 2013

A few days away ,so Iwas looking forward to see if anything else had arrived or was passing through. Today was a holiday in Holland so I could get out on a Monday which is unsual. As it turned out one wanted guest appeared in the form of a calling Cuckoo our first of this year for the patch and an unexpected guest was found in the form of 4 Tufted Duck on a small pool on the edge of the patch ,again a year tick for the vicinity.
Warblers in the hedges were 3 Chiffchaff ,5 Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler and 5 Whitethroat.Overhead 6 Swallow and  a high count so far this year of 20 plus House Martins and a Yellow Wagtail called as it passed over.
The best bird was a Whinchat that perched atop a hedge, cracking birds and nice to see as they pass on their way to the uplands to breed .
The best of the rest were 3 Red LeggedPartridge, 3 Stock Dove, 4 Skylark, 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a late departing or early arriving Common Gull .
The patch list is now 80

Thursday 16 May 2013

After a few days absence due to work ,I got out onto the patch late afternoon . I went out with the intention of seeing if any Spotted Flycatchers had arrived , the good news is that they have , with 1 bird being seen in its usual haunt.
Warblers were quiet with just 3 each of Chiffchaff and Blackcaps about. Overhead it was great to see 140 plus Swift move north , also 1 Sand Martin and what appeared to be 5 local House Martin and 6 Local Swallow.
A fantastic Peregrine Falcon drifted north east and 4 Buzzards were floating about.
The best of the rest were 3 Stock Dove ,Red Legged Partridge,  Greatwer Spotted Woodpecker, and a flock of 40 plus Lesser Black Backed Gulls.
 Thepatch list now stands at 78

Sunday 12 May 2013

The first visit to the patch since Thursday, and it was back to dodging the showers but at least the wind had died down a tad.
I had a scout around some of the usual haunts for the chance of a Spotted Flycatcher but no luck yet.
Warblers were represented by 3 Chiffchaff, 7 Blackcap, 5 Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.
Over the pastures were 8 plus House Martins, 6 Swallow, and a brief Swift, also up to 6 singing Skylark.
Overhead there was a male soaring Kestrel and up to 7 Buzzards .Our Yellow Wagtail is still around but appears to have moved breeding area this year.
The best of the rest were Red Legged Partridge, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and 3 Stock Dove

Thursday 9 May 2013

A bank holiday in Holland today meant that I could give the patch coverage this morning. It was very blustery and rain was in the air, so I did not think it would be that good but in the end I  was suprised .
Overhead the first good number of Swallows were about with 30 plus over, also 5 House Martins and a year tick for the patch with a Swift that powered through . Birds of prey were represented by a Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and 2 Buzzard. The best bird of the day was a stunning male Yellow Wagtail with the first Pied Wagtail north for a week or so .
A Raven soared over and a nice sighting was a pair of Bullfinch and a pair of Linnets appear to be breeding in the vicinity.
Warblers today were 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, a singing Willow Wabler, Lesser Whitethroat, and 4 Whitethroat.
 The best of the rest were 5 Stock Dove and 4 Skylark .
The patch list is now 76

Monday 6 May 2013

Bank holiday Monday and I had to work so I did not get out until lunchtime, a hot cloudless day greeted me and although Idid not cover the entire patch ,there were some cracking birds around today. Number 75 for the patch came in the form of a cracking male Whinchat in the same hedgerow as last year .
Warblers were represented by 6 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat, 4 Chiffchaff and still 2 Lesser Whitethroat, although Willow Warblers seem to have moved on .
A fine male Yellow Wagtail flew over calling and there were up too 5 Buzzards around. At least a few House Martins were over the village , stll only 3 though , 4 Swallow went over.
There were 2 male Wheatears both away from the usual place one in the horse paddocks and one in a hedgerow.
The best of the rest were 3 Skylark, 2 Stock Dove and a Red Legged Partridge .
The patch list is now 75

Saturday 4 May 2013

A breezy day ,with an annoying strong south westerly wind , it has been a really poor spring and we seem to have lost all our House Martins this year , it has not been helped by the destruction of the largest colony by the local householder, over 50 nests , all because of the mess they make ,so very sad .I really feel that when you move to the countryside that you have embrace the other inhabitants that may live near or next too you.
On the patch migrants continue to filter through and in the hedges I found 5 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroat,  a good count of 3 all singing Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Blackcap.
In the top fields there were 4 Wheatear 2male ,2 female, and a Yellow Wagtail flew over calling. Still only very few Swallow with only 5 recorded today and just 2 House Martin.
The best of the rest were 3Skylark, 2 Red Legged Partridge, 2 Linnet, 7 Stock Dove and a male Kestrel. 

Wednesday 1 May 2013

A fantastic day ,with  light winds and a balmy feel, due to work pressures it was just an hour on the patch early afternoon .
Warblers in the hedges were 3 Chiffchaff, 6 Whitethroats, 4 Blackcaps and best of all 2 Lesser Whitethroats , one in a new location and one chortling away behind the house early morning.
It must of been perfect for Buzzards as I recorded 13 today including a flock of 8 together soaring together , no doubt some were migrants passing over .
Still very few Swallows only 4 today, where are they ? . I wondered up to the top fields but there was only 1 male Wheatear today ,the rest having moved on.
The best of the rest were 3 Red Legged Partridge, female Kestrel ,3 Skylark

Tuesday 30 April 2013

A good walk with plenty of species seen today , I visited Coombe Hill Meadows on Sunday but failed to see the Great White Egret that is there but I did see plenty of other good birds (see gloster birder).So I was lucky today as it was a Dutch bank holiday so I was off work today .I debated where to go but in the end I opted to walk the patch.
The first birds I saw were 2 Greylag Geese which flew over the house a new year species for the patch.
Blackcaps were plentiful today with 9 singing today,perhaps migrants moving through. The Buzzards were making use of the strong breeze today with 4 soaring around today. Skylarks were singing well with 9 in the fields today and scanning the hedgerows found 6 Whitethroats .
Still hardly any House Martins with just 1 but there were 6 plus Swallows ,some were seen taking mud from puddles for their nests.
I went to the very edge of the patch today something I should do more often as it brought 1 singing Willow Warbler and views of a Lesser Whitethroat .
As I made my way home I checked to see if the Wheatears were still there and was pleased to see 1 male, I was wondering whether it was the same bird as of  last few days when after scanning one of the top fields  I found another 5 birds including a cracking Greenland male, its amazing to think that this bird may end up breeding in Greenland or even Arctic Canada 
The patch list now stands at 74.
One last thing a warm welcome to the new readers from the Tirley village website. If you have any sighting or questions just let me know.    

Saturday 27 April 2013

A late walk around the patch today , and to be honest I was thinking how poor this spring had been , and how to keep writng the same thing over and over again . In the end I managed to find three new species for the patch list.
just 2 Blackcap were singing (it was late afternoon ), but for the first time this year I managed to get into double figures with Swallows with 10 plus over/through .I got nice close up views of Stock Dove (4), they really are fantastic.
A Raven was mobbing a Buzzard (5 today), but no sign of the Kestrel today. Walking across the fields turned up 5 Skylark and 3 Whitethroat in the hedges.A nice suprise was a calling Curlew close by, did not see though .There was a small flock of Gulls on ploughed fields with 25 Lesser Black Backed and 1 Herring Gull present.
It was then things picked up with 4 Chiffchaff and then a male and female Wheatear on the top fields(3 weeks later than last year). A brief sound alerted me to a Lesser Whitethroat in the hedgerows . So by this time I was feeling pretty pleased with myself having added 2 new species to the patch list so as I was almost home  a bird darted from some hawthorns , a quick glance through the bino"s and there was a cracking male Redstart .
So it turned out to be a cracking walk.
The patch list moves to 73

Tuesday 23 April 2013

A great day , after a cracking visit to Ashleworth on Sunday (please see gloster birder), it was back to the patch .The first thing I  heard were 2 Blackcaps singing and after a walk around the patch it was obvious that more have arrived with a total of 8 being seen or heard . t he next most striking thing were Buzzards with at least 10/12 passing overhead some were migrant heading at very great hight north east.
Still only a few Swallows with just 2 been seen ,although the first House Martins were welcome with 2 over the old vicarage A single Skylark still sang and I found 5 Chiffchaff dotted about and also 2 singing Willow Warbler.
Whitethroats were down to 4 today ,but most would appear to be local breeders as they are in the expected places from last year.
The best of the rest were a pair of Stock Dove and a flybe female Kestrel
 The patch list now stands at 70

Saturday 20 April 2013

The first proper Spring morning, clear sky and a light south wind , just a pleasure to be out. I was out at 7.30 am and the first thing that greeted me was a singing Blackcap , in the end we ended up with 4 . 2 Drumming Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were nice to hear and the female Kestrel was on a post. There had been an overnight arrival of Common Whitethroats with 5 been found . A Curlew was heard calling from the river meadows .
There were at least 7 Skylark about and a Meadow Pipit headed north.As far as  other Warblers there were 2 singing Willow Warblers and 3 singing Chiffchaff. The best bird of the day was a male Yellow Wagtail which was near last years breeding area.A small suprise was a Fieldfare which flew over , a bit late now he /she should be on his way north by now.
The best of the rest were a flyover Mute Swan, 6 Red Legged Partridge , 2 Stock Dove and around 8 Linnet.3 Buzzard
 The patch list is now 69

Friday 19 April 2013

Its been a few days since my last posting, due to work I have had very little time to survey the patch ,only managed two small visits and there appears only small changes birdwise although all the trees and hedges are busting out. Anyhow I aim to get out early am and cover the patch early before any other people are about.
 A n obvious thing to report was the Barn Owl that passed down the lane this morning at 7.55am. We now have 2 singing Blackcap ,about 5 Chiffchaff and a couple of Willow Wablers have sung. There were 8 Buzzards together and linnets are back with 8 today .Just a single Swallow over north  this evening .
But I will do as proper job in the morning so expect a mega update tommorrow.

Saturday 13 April 2013

With the first Swallows yesterday and the sun shinning and a singing Chiffchaff outside the house , I was off early full of hope. In the event it was really a quiet walk  . A Raven was over calling and up to 6 singing Skylark were about.
Buzzards numbered 3 and 2 Red Legged Partridge were in the field edges. Chiffchaff numbered just 3 and 7 Linnet passed over . There was also 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker drumming and 4 Stock Dove were displaying.
On the sheep fields there was 20 plus Common Gull  with 25 plus Lesser Black Backed Gulls .
In the village around midday a newly arrived Willow Warbler announced its arrival with it"s song. Spring has now arrived
THe patch list is now 67

Friday 12 April 2013

This post covers Wednesday to Friday. Wednesday was sunny and even what could be termed warm, so 2 singing Chiffchaff near the garden filled me full of hope.As it turned out there was not alot about the main highlight being 35 Meadow Pipits  ,26 which were grounded the rest straight over north
The rest of the list were 2 Red Legged Partridge, 3 Buzzard, 1 Linnet north, 5 Stock Dove, and a Bullfinch being heard.
Thursday was altogether colder and windier but at least 5 Buzzards were about ,perhaps some migrants with 2 passing high to the north .A Greater Spotted Woodpecker was drumming and 4 Skylark were singing. There was a flock of 15 Fieldfare moving east and a flock of soaring calling Lesser Black Backed Gulls were heading in the same direction ( 40 plus).
The highlight of the day was the first Swallow which powered north ,2 Chiffchaff were in the same place as few days ago.
The best of the rest were 2 Stock Dove 8 Common Gull and a Brown Hare.
Friday really felt like spring had arrived being mild with heavy showers. 5 Chiffchaff were scattered about the patch and 3 Buzzards were soaring about. The pair of Red Legged Partridge were again seen.
Just 5 Meadow Pipit today but there were at least 6 singing Skylark. After the first Swallow yesterday a further 6 went north .
There were still 5 Fieldfare and a flock of 10 Redwing and a Raven flew low over calling.
The best of the rest were 4 Black Headed Gull, 3 Stock Dove, and 2 Brown Hare
 The patch list now stands at 66 .

Sunday 7 April 2013

Saturday was glorious although very cold first thing, so I was hoping that spring may have sprung, a singing Nutatch from the garden was a good start. So it was onto the patch full of hope, Redwings 50 plus and Fieldfare with 40 plus reminded me of the cold spring that we have had . As did 50 Starling which flew quickly north . The local Buzzrds were soaring about ( 3), and on the pastures there were at least 8 Skylarks which were singing .
Meadow Pipits with 50 plus were about again after a few days of absence in any sort of numbers and there were 10 Stock Dove with one flock of 6 seen , I would guess that they were migrants as we only have 2 pairs on the patch usually.
A couple of Red Legged Partridge exploded out of one of the hedgerows  and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming somewhere in the distance.
So still no summer migrants on the patch although when dropping my son off at work there were 3 Chiffchaff by the river with one in song ,so some summer migrants are filtering in slowly .
With the winds forcast from the south next week and tempretures on the rise those summer visitors cannot be far from arriving

Friday 5 April 2013

Having a bird blog depends on one major factor, the birds ,which are very sadly missing at the moment. The east wind is lacerating and migration has stopped so the last couple of days have been useless.
Redwing with 30 plus and Fieldfare with 20 plus are still hanging on , held up by the easterlies. A couple of Meadow Pipits still are hanging on ,the rest having moved on and just 1 Pied Wagtail has moved over.
The Kestrel has reappeared on her wintering grounds after a few days missing.
 The best of the rest were 2 Re dLegged Partridge, 6 Stock Dove and a Buzzard .Can it get any worse ?  

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Over the last couple of days the sun has shone but the bitter east wind is still blowing, things look better for the weekend ,with southerlies forecast .
Monday gave a drumming Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a flyover Raven was heard. The winter Thrush"s keep hanging on with 12 Redwing and 6 Fieldfare. Skylark kept singing in the howling easterly with 4 been seen or heard.
The Meadow Pipit flock was down to 25 plus and a couple of Stock Dove put in an appearance.
Tuesday started off with a garden Chiffchaff which moved quickly through the garden . That got me hoping that we may be awash with summer migrants ,but not a hope. The best was 21 Fieldfare and 1 Redwing . There did appear to be a few Buzzard on the move with at least 6 soaring about ,with at least 3 moving high northwest.
The best of the rest were 29 Lesser Black Backed Gu;ll, 3 Common Gull and 10 Black Headed Gulls .

Sunday 31 March 2013

The first day of British Summer time dawned clear with a heavy frost so it seemed only right that the first birds of the day were a flock of 65 Redwing feeding on thawing pasture.The other winter Thrush featured as well with 78 plus Fieldfare . Meadow Pipits were passing through with 87 plus heading north to north east and it was almost feeling Springlike by this time with the sun up and the wind having died away .
A pair of displaying Ravens were a great sight and a distant drumming Greater Spotted Woodpecker added to the springlike feel . Pied Wagtail were more numerous than they have been with a total of 6 been seen , some north bound migrants in the number. Two Comarants passed over high north east and our first singing Linnet of the spring was welcome .
 We also seem to have a small influx of Skylark with at least 12 been seen /heard. One of the local Buzzards flapped past and a Mistle Thrush was in a situ.
 But the best birds were two Chiffchaff feeding in a sunlit hedgerow ,flycatching together , newly arrived and no doubt feeding up before moving on or starting to sing on their territory.
The patch list goes to 65 and now spring feels as if it is on it"s way

Friday 29 March 2013

The great spring continues with a bone chilling easterly today ,although the sun tried to make a brief sortie at one point.
The spring migration is so slow that it has hardly started here , pathetic is a word to describe it .
A flock of 24 Fieldfare moving east provided hope of something happening but that was soon shown not to be happening. There were 7 Skylark about the fields and the Meadow Pipit flock was around the 60 plus mark with 3 other over flying northward migrants .
I also saw a flock of 33 Black HeadedGulls with 3 Common Gulls which were soaring very high northwards ,maybe migrants ? .
There was a hunting Kestrel over one of the field ditches and a couple of Buzzards were soaring about , also a flock of 55 Woodpigeon were feeding in one of the sheep fields . Perhaps the most unusual bird was a Jay a bird we do not see here until the Autumn , although this is the second spring bird this year.
It can only get better , but when ?

Wednesday 27 March 2013

The stalemate with the weather persists with a cold northeast wind and snow blowing in the wind , hard to believe after last year at this time. I went out not expecting to see any summer migrants and I was not suprised when I did not see any ,although there were some early spring migants around. The Kestrel was in it"s usual place having been missing over the last day or so.
The first flock of Fieldfares were seen, the first for a while, with a good 200 plus in the nearby trees, but no Redwings today. The newly manured fields have attracted good numbers of corvids with 110 plus Jackdaws notable. The hightlite of today was a superb male Peregrine Falcon which headed north east , the 2nd sighting of the year.
A Raven soared overhead ,and a Green Woodpecker was heard. A good sighting was had when a flock of 14 Golden Plover headed north east , these will be the last until the Autumn.
The best of the rest were Buzzard, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Stock Dove, 2 Skylark .This year spring is very late and I for one am bored now with winter. Bring on the sunshine

Sunday 24 March 2013

If it was possible it was even colder today , although the snow had gone the wind was eyewatering ! . But species no 64 appeared  in the form of a Jay , a bird that I do not see until the autumn ,so maybe a bird returning north.
A good size flock of 50 plus Redwing were in the hedgerows  , the first for a few days.The list was short but I still managed to see a Raven and the flock of Meadow Pipits from yesterday were still there with another 4 over heading north .A few more Skylarks were about with 7 in the fields ,apart from a Buzzard that was all of interest
Patch list is now 64 

Saturday 23 March 2013

Winter has returned with blizzards and general crap weather, what a change to last year . I was not going to post on the blog as I thought there would not be alot to tell you about. But I am on here because even in the middle of a blizzard intrepid north bound travellers continue to battle on , namely a flock of 60 plus Meadow Pipits which were grounded by the snow .This follows on from reports from Portland of hundreds arriving yesterday from across the sea .
 The garden has hosted Nutatch ,male Blackcap and a summer plumaged female Brambling over the last two days .
The weather forcast for the next few days is still cold ,it is hard to believe that on the 1st of April last year I was watching a Cuckoo . Spring seems a long way off at the moment .

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Patch birding can sometimes be a very hard task ,but I suppose thats what makes it intresting , today was just dire, for mid March when I should be reporting new arrivals it was hard to find anything at all , but every cloud as they say and yes even when Crap a year tick arrived with a calling Curlew near or over the river Meadows .
Fieldfare with 6 plus and Redwing with 10 plus were hanging on and Stock Dove with 7 made up the numbers .Apart from 2 Buzzards and 2 Drumming Greater Spotted Woodpeckers that really was about it
The patch list now stands at 63

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Spring refuses to arrive with a north east wind , but here it was still almost mild but elsewhere snow and ice and heavy rain, all this is making any migrants late and by now I would of expected to have recorded Chiffchaff on the patch but as yet there is one big no show.
Patch birding can be a hard task and today confirmed just that ,although it started well enough with a Tawny Owl calling at 5am
On the patch 2 pairs of Buzzard were soaring about and the female Kestrel was hunting.. Just 2 Meadow Pipit today both straight over northwards  and a Pied Wagtail was over as well.
There were however 65 plus Redwing and 10 Fieldfare which flew off north and a further 9 Fieldfare went over high to the north east.
 Stock Dove are still around in good numbers with 9 been seen today including a flock of 5 together.
Apart from a single Skylark I am afraid it was really dire, here"s hoping for better in the following days.

Sunday 17 March 2013

Ok , so I have had a couple of days off work and have been to a couple of local birding sights but I have also made a couple rounds of the local patch ,and although the last vestiges of winter remain there are a few signs that spring is coming although saying that this weeks weather forcast is very wintery .
Saturday morning was a wet affair with heavy rain and there was an upsurge in Redwing 58 plus and Fieldfare70 plus , birds moving east perhaps. Skylarks belted their song with 9 been seen or heard. Stock dove numbered 12 and 2 Pied Wagtail passed over. The most notable bird was a migrant Coal Tit in one of the hedgerows , I never seen one on the patch away from the garden before. A couple of Buzzards took advantage of the breeze to stretch their wings.
Sunday was mild and a good start was a Brambing and a Lesser Redpoll on the feeders . At least 5 Buzzards were up and calling. I was hoping for the first spring migrant but was in  the end not successful .Two flocks of Lesser Black Backed Gulls passed north east , very high up and calling as they went , perhaps a bit of vis mig.
Stock Dove were seen with 4 present and there were 5 Skylark today.. There was however a real sign of spring with at first 1 Meadow Pipit over north and then a flock of 40 plus birds on rough pasture.
 Winter Thrush"s were 50 plus Redwing including 2 singing birds (a first for me in this country), and 20 plus Fieldfare. Perhaps another sign of migration was the presence of a flock 60 plus Chaffinch on stubble with another flock of 10 passing east.
There were also 500 plus Common Gull on sheep pasture,and  a massive assorted gull  flock passing over the Malverns at least 2500 birds , all soaring on thermals . Not on the patch but very impressive all the same
 So a bit of early spring movement and the first Chiffchaff or Wheatear cannot be far away , here hoping  

Thursday 14 March 2013

The last couple of  days have almost been springlike even though we have had heavy frosts ,but we are still to see any spring migrants on the patch even though they are beginning to be seen around and about.
The Brambling has still been in the garden but the Redpolls seem to have gone north .Raptors seen have been the wintering Kestrel which has reappeared , a fine female Sparrowhawk and the local Buzzards which finally got a chance to spread there wings with the fine weather.
Winter Thrush"s are declining in number with a max of 35 plus Fieldfare and 20 plus Redwing and a Mistle Thrush which is still hanging on. There are at least 5 singing Skylark at the moment , so lets hope they can find somewhere to breed. It was nice to see 2 Goldcrest flycatching from some conifers .
There are only about 220 plus Starling left the rest having moved on .
 The best of the rest were  2 Red Legged Partridge, 5 Stock Dove, Cormarant downriver, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a party of 35 summerplumaged Black  Headed Gulls which moved northwards , 1 Brown Hare was also seen .

Sunday 10 March 2013

Having spent the week working in Holland (did manage some token birding at an inland polder with at least 10,000 Wigeon, Coot, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe , Greylag Geeese in one large flock ), it was great to see what was going on the patch on Saturday morning. The weather was   quite cold and it was fairly obvious that although the first summer migrants have already been seen we were still in the grip of winter as far as the local birdlife was concerned .That been said there were a few signs of spring around with Pied Watail over north the first flock of 7 Meadow  Pipits  for awhile. Skylarks were about with 12 seen and some have started to sing . There were still 50 plus Redwing and 30 plus Fieldfare around .
There was also a large flock of 50 plus Black Headed Gull, 50 plus Lesser Black Backed Gull and 10 plus Herring Gull on sheep pasture these had the fear of god put int them when a superb Peregrine Falcon passed over heading east This is our 61st species of the year a great way to break the 60 barrier.
The best of the rest were Buzzard Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and 10 Stock Dove.
 The patch list now stands at 61.
 Sunday had a north east wind and was very cold, however 4 Lesser Redpoll and a Brambling were on the feeders.
 On the patch 9 skylark were present  a Pied wagtail over north as was a Meadow Pipit. A massive 1100 plus Common Gull with 500 plus Black Headed Gull and 40 plus Lesser Black Backed Gull were on sheep Pasture
There were 50 plus Redwing with 145 plus Fieldfare and a nice flock of 30 plus  Goldfinch with 10 plus Greenfinch..
 A year tick for the patch in the form of a Cormorant flying upriver was nice.
 The best of the rest were Red Legged Partridge, Stock Dove.
The patch list is now 62

Saturday 2 March 2013

The first of March saw me only able to get out for a short while and only cover a small part of the patch, however a massive flock of 3500 plus Starling heading to roost was a great sight. Also tagging along were 15 each of Fieldfare and Redwing.
The 2nd of March felt like the first day of spring with 3 singing Skylark and another passing over.63 plus Fieldfare along with 156 plus Redwing were feeding in the horse paddocks and nearby were 750 plus Starling feeding on pasture.Stock Doves still numbered 10 and the invasion of Magpies continues with 13 been seen.
There was a small mixed flock of Finches in one of the hedgerows with at least 12 Goldfinch and 2 Lesser Redpoll with Greenfinch and Chaffinch. There was also the usual Kestrel.
A Lesser Redpoll was also on the feeders this morning .

Thursday 28 February 2013

This post covers 27th and 28th where the weather has been almost springlike.Most of the usual cast has been around with a few more Reding 112 plus and 35 plus and Fieldfare 4 and 50 plus.Also a Mistle Thrush has been around. Starling have numbered 1000 plus and 200 plus. A flock of 6 Magpie have hanging around and the wintering Kestrel and between 2 and 4 Buzzard have been hunting the area. The max number of Stock Dove have been 15 plus. A year tick has been found in the form of a pair of Goldcrest. A nice way to get into the sixties . A pair of Lesser Redpoll have been still using the feeders.
The patch total is now 60

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Sunday dawned cold and windy  and few birds around, the hightlite being 2 Golden Plover which flew north.The Stock Dove invasion continues with 25 plus . The wintering Kestrel is still on station and a couple Buzzard were soaring about. An odd thing was a flock of 9 Magpie .
The best of the rest 100 plus Starling, 5 Fieldfare, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
Today was milder and less windy, The Starling flock had increased to 400plus and Stock Doves to a massive 40 plus. There were more Redwings with 59 feeding on damp pasture ,but just 1 Fieldfare.1 Skylark passed over and the Kestrel was scanning her winter home from on high . Roll on the spring 

Saturday 23 February 2013

A last something to write about, the patch came up with the goods with a cracking Red Kite which drifted southwards at 10.15am , an annual visitor in usually May so a bit earlier than normal .
On the feeders 2 Coal Tit and 5 Lesser Redpoll were today joined by a male Reed Bunting. On the  patch 18 plus Stock Dove were seen , we seem to be having a little bit of an influx at the moment..
Winter Thrush"s were about with 38 plus Redwing and just 8 Fieldfare. A flock of 140 plus Lapwing moved downriver. A few more Meadow Pipit were about with 15 plus , a sign of a few early spring migrants.
There were good numbers of Rook (55 plus), and Jackdaw (80 plus ), feeding on the manured fields ,
The best of the rest were Pied Wagtail, 2 Buzzard and a flock of 7 Magpie and a drumming Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
The patch list now moves to 59

Friday 22 February 2013

Any thoughts of spring have fanished as winter is back with a biting cold wind, the benefit is that it has dried alot of the standing water away and for the first time in months it is dry under foot, even the river meadows have drained.
The bird life is stuck in the winter doldrums  although today I managed to find one year tick for the patch in the form of  a flyover Grey Heron which was being mobbed by the local corvids.
On the feeders there were 5 Lesser Redpoll and a Coal Tit and a flock of 25 Chaffinch .On the patch there was a flock 500 plus Lapwing which was a fine sight, with small numbers of Fieldfare (10), Redwing (10), and 100 plus Starling.
 There appears to be an influx of Stock Dove with 13 been seen today, and the first Linnets were seen for quite awhile with a small flock of 4 heading north.
A Raven was feeding with good numbers of Jackdaws and Rooks on the recently spread fields (now all the fields are covered in cow shite.
The usual Raptors were present with the wintering Kestrel still in situ and there were 3 Buzzards dotted about.
  A Greater Spotted Woodpecker put in a brief appearence.
The patch list now stands at 58 

Sunday 17 February 2013

The last couple of days have been really sprkinglike, with the sun shinning and pleasent tempretures. With these factors it is beginning to feel like early spring and there has been a few subtle changes in the birds on the patch.
Saturday dawned clear ,cold with bright sun., The local Kestrel was scanning the area from on high and a Raven passed overhead calling. Two Buzzards were also about.
Winter Thrush were 22 plus Fieldfare and 55 plus Redwing, but Starling were much reduced to only 300 plus.
A great sight was the flock of Wigeon which were flying around the floods with 350 plus today. They will soon be heading north to their breeding grounds in Russia .A few Skylarks were about with a couple singing ( 4 in total ). There was also a mixed flock of Gull feeding on sheep fields with 50 plus Common Gull, 15 Black Headed Gull, and 8 Lesser Black Backed Gull .
A nice sight was a mixed flock of 15 plus Goldfinch and 20 plus Chaffinch in one of the upper fields.
The best of the rest were 5 Stock Dove, Mistle Thrush, Green Woodpecker and a Pied Wagtail.
Suday dawned crisp and clear and the first birds I saw were 3 Lesser Redpoll on the feeders .On the way up to the fields a Greater Spotted Woodpeckier was drumming and later another was seen feeding on a dead tree.
Only a few Fieldfare today with only 7 being seen.On the floodwater there were 180 plus Wigeon and a Brown Hare put in an appearence.
A small passage of Skylarks  was apparent with a flock of 6 heading due north , 3 were singing in a total of 11 birds seen.There was also a small flock of 8 Meadow Pipit , more evidence of the first early spring migrants on the move.
The best of the rest were 5 Buzzard, Pied Wagtail ,Green Woodpeckier, 4 Stock Dove, Red Legged Partridge and a mixed flock of Gulls on a sheep field with 70 plus Black Headed Gull, 5 Common Gull, and 5 Lesser Black Backed Gull.

Friday 15 February 2013

After work on a spring like day it was a pleasure to be out and about. I was only out for 45 mins but it felt very spring like. I was wodering what I may have missed from earlier in the day. There were a few highlights .There was only 2 Redwing and Starling were down to 300 plus. There were a number of Gulls were about with 69 plus Black Headed Gulls and a flock of 40 plus Common Gulls which were soaring high to the north east.
There was a flock of 68 plus Lapwing which moved down river but this was eclipsed by the 300 plus Wigeon which flew over the patch ,they must have been disturbed from the flood meadows .
The best of the rest were Pied Wagtail, 2 Buzzard and the wintering Kestrel and 2 Stock Dove  

Thursday 14 February 2013

After a few days working in Holland it was great to have time to walk around the patch. What a difference ,it felt almost spring like today with the tempreature being around 9c.
The star bird today was a fantastic Barn Owl that drifted down the lane at 5.40pm , a year tick and agreat bird to boot. The numbers were provided by a staggering 4200 plus Starling which were feeding on stubble and wet pasture
Fieldfare numbered 84 plus and Redwing 24 plus .A male Sparrowhawk hunted the hedges and a couple of Stock Dove were feeding in one of the fields. There was also a couple of Buzzards around and a Pied Wagtail on a dung heap. In a couple of weeks I will be looking for the first spring migrants.\
The patch list is now 57

Saturday 9 February 2013

The first chance of having a proper walk around the patch for a week showed the ground still saturated although the floods are now almost gone.It was still cold and we have the chance of snow again tonight.
 On the feeders CoalTit, Lesser Redpoll and a male Blackcap were the best visitors, the Blackcap being the second bird of the week (the first being a female ).
On the patch itself it is much the same as the previous days with 750 plus Starling and 100 plus Black Headed Gulls on the wet pasture.
The number of winter Thrush"s is still decreasing with 50 plus Redwing and 24 plus Fieldfare today, also 1 Mistle Thrush was noted. Overhead a Raven soared over and a local Buzzard called as it hunted the fields.
It was nice to note a Yellowhammer ,the first for some weeks, also a flock of 7 Stock Dove was seen.
The first good sized flock of Chaffinch was seen since October with 54 plus in one of the hedges still a long way short of the 150 plus earlier in the Autumn.
The best of the rest were Pied Wagtail and just 1 flyover Skylark

Wednesday 6 February 2013

Just a quick update, very cold with a biting north wind , however a new year tick appeared in the form of a female Blackcap which was on the feeders. These birds are from Eastern and Northern Europe and are part of the population that has started to winter in the UK, they will migrate back to Germany etc for the breeding season only to be replaced by migrants from North Africa for the summer .There was only 1 Lesser Redpoll today .
The patch itself was still very quiet with the only hightlights being 1500 plus Starling 75 plus Black Headed Gulls both feeding on the receding floodwater. Apart from 5that 120 plus Fieldfare and just 6 Redwing made up the best of the rest.
With the addition of the Blackcap the patch list now stands at 56.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

The weather has turned cold again, as a result the number of Lesser Redpolls has jumped to 8 yesterday and 7 today . It is the first time I have recorded them on the patch in 11 years and to have them in the garden is a bonus.
 Generally it is all a bit samey really, with Redwings and Fieldfares numbering 120 plus each and Starling at the 300 plus mark.
A small group of 4 Meadow Pipits were in the company of a Pied Wagtail . The female wintering Kestrel was in the usual place ,in a short while she will be off to her breeding territory.On the flooded meadows the odd Mallard was bobbing about and a group of 25 Black Headed Gulls with a couple of Common Gull fed on the waters edge.A year tick was added when a flock of 12 Shelduck flew north upriver .
The patch list is now at 55

Friday 1 February 2013

With the pressure of work this week this is a two day update .The weather has been mild and very wet with the river in full flood again. The birds have been a bit samey really with flocks of 400 plus Fieldfare and 80 plus Redwing being noteworthy. The wintering Skylark flock has been seen with a max of 30 plus. Starling were numerous onThursday with 1500 plus over. The odd Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails on the fields were scratching a living .
 It was sad to see a Lapwing on its own with a broken wing .Theqwintering female Kestrel is still with us and 1or 2 Buzzards have floated over.
On the feeders we have had 4 Lesser Redpolls on the niger feeder.
 Just a small note that it was great to see so many Red Kites on the M40, with at least 20 being counted between Reading and Oxford, but the iceing on the cake was seeing one near Chedworth over the Gloucestershire county line. We usually see one or two on the patch around mid May

Tuesday 29 January 2013

A horrible wet and very windy day today, although it was very mild, . The whole area looks as if it is going to be flooded again with all the rain and meltrd snow.
2 Lesser Redpoll were on the feeders again which is nice to see .On the patch itself the main thing was a large flock of 400 plus Fieldfare with 100 plus Starling and 50 plus Redwing . There was more Woodpigeons of late with 400 plus, including a large 300 plus flock flying northeast. A new species for the patch list was found with a flock of 7 Red Legged Partridge .Apart from that 1 Meadow Pipit, 2 Buzzard, female Kestrel, and a flock of Skylarks were heard going over .
The patch list now stands at 54

Sunday 27 January 2013

What a difference a day makes ! today was mild very windy and even the sun came out for a while ,mind you this was after torrential rain overnight which melted all the lying snow and left the ground saturated again.So it came as no suprise to find 47 Lapwing on the adjacent fields , but what was a suprise was the flock of at least 1000 Lapwings which flew over from the now flooded river meadows, a great sight.
The other main featurec of the day was the start of the northward movement of Skylark , with the winter flock of 47 plus birds still on pasture and another at least 19 seen heading directly north. There seems to be only 2 Meadow Pipits left now ,the others having moved on.Winter Thrush 's totalled 85 plus Fieldfare and 20 plus Redwing, and a Mistle Thrush was noted.
The best of the rest were 5 Stock Dove ,just 100 plus Starling, and a Buzzard
So perhaps the first hints of Spring or am I being over optomistic?
The patch species remains the same.

Friday 25 January 2013

A couple of days worth of updates.Yesterday was really cold with a searing east wind, pressure from work and general stuff meant that I only managed a quick trot around the top part of the patch, but even so I managed to see a few nice birds .There were a larger number of Lapwings about with 74 on pasture  with 30 plus Fieldfare, also 600 plus Starling .
Anyway back to today still very cold but  there  is a thaw on the way, still under time pressure so again a quick visit around the top of the patch a cracking flock of 45 plus Skylark and about 100 plus Common Gulls  were feeding on the frozen pasture. The Lapwing flock has decreased to 15 and winter thrushes consisted of 5 Redwing and 15 Fieldfare. Just 2 Meadow Pipits today .The usual Kestrel was on station and a Buzzard passed by. I was pleased to hear a Tawny Owl calling at 5am this morning when I was working ,it sounded as if it was on the roof of the house !
A year tick for the patch was a pair of Mute Swan which pushs the patch total to 53 

Wednesday 23 January 2013

At last something to write about, the weather has been cold with snow over the last couple of days, but today although cold with snow flurries there were
 at 4 signs of a thaw .With the weather becoming milder with rain, I fear floods maybe our next problem, there is alot of water on the land at the moment.
There were some good birds on the feeders today amongst the common species, Lesser Redpoll, Nutatch, Coal Tit, and a great bird in the form of a Brambling.
On the patch 33 Lapwing on the frozen pasture were kept company by 40 Common Gulls and a Raven .Fieldfare(30plus), and Redwing(20 )were feeding on the thawing snow .A really good count of 47 plus Skylark was the highest of the winter so far.
There are still good numbers of Starling with 800 plus about today. There were 8 Meadow Pipits flitting about and a Green Woodpecker was heard. There was a flock of 10 Goldfinch over and a Stock Dove passed over.
The patch list now stands at 52

Sunday 20 January 2013

Willow and I ventured into the snowscape today with a light snowfall . It was beutiful with the snow and ice and it did not feel that cold .It was however hard going on the bird front ,but an estimated 30 plus Blackbird and 10 plus Song Thrush along with 20 plus each of Redwing and Fieldfare showed that it is hard for the birds at the moment .
This can be seen by just how busy the feeders are at the moment, with all the common expected birds around in numbers.
On the patch 2 Kestrel were hunting the fields and hedges and a flock of 7 Skylark were feeding in the snow covered stubble. 2 Buzzard were sitting out the snow storm in an oak tree but were mobbed by a flock of 13 Magpie.
Around the fields 14 Lapwings were scattered about and 3 Meadow Pipits and 2 Pied Wagtails were flitting about .There were only about 250 plus Starling today the rest having moved on The only odd thing today was a Greater Spotted Woodpecker which was drumming away as if it were a spring day, except it was in the middle of a snow storm .
A lone Stock Dove over and a few Common Gulls drifting over the fields looking for a morsel were all that was about, lets hope for better things in the near future.

Friday 18 January 2013

The promised snow and cold weather arrived yesterday but the only cold weather refugees were a flock of 120 plus Lapwing heading down river.Anyhow Willow and I and  ventured into the snow this afternoon (only 1 inch) , and there were just a few notable sightings . A flock of 9 Lapwing on pasture with 15 Fieldfare. 2 Buzzard called to each other and there was a single Meadow Pipit .The best sighting was a flock of 23 plus Skylark flying low over the snow fields.
 The feeders were busy with 2 Lesser Redpoll ,although one bird was much more buff /frosty coloured with 2 wing bars and what looked like a thinner beak, could it be a Mealy Redpoll ? I do not claim to know enough about the populations of Redpoll, so I will ask some advice ,I will keep you posted.

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Winter arrived today with a harsh frost , and forcasted snow as from FridayTh e feeders were busy as you would expect lots of common species as well as Lesser Redpoll, Coal Tit and our first ever Nutatch.
The patch showed a few hard weather migrants with 55 plus Redwing, 25 plus Fieldfare on pasture ,also lots of Blackbirds and Song Thrush in the hedges. The usual Kestrel weas about and a Buzzard flew across being chased by the local Corvids.
Only 9 Lapwings headed downriver but that was made up for by a cracking flock of 54 Golden Plover heading over.There were 550 plus Starling and 3 Meadow Pipit with 2 Pied Wagtails. A good sight was of 20 plus Skylark in a flock .
Another species was added last night with a Tawny Owl calling at 7pm.
 The patch list now stands at 51

Monday 14 January 2013

The artic blast arrived today with 6 degrees and rain, what a bunch of tits the weather forcasters are ! My boys were devastated as they were expecting a snow day .As for the patch, that was just awful today, with only 2 Lesser Redpoll on the feeders providing any quality.
The rest of the birds were a Bullfinch ,6 Meadow Pipits, 5 Pied Wagtails ,2/3 Mistle Thrush, 4 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing , Buzzard and 2 Kestrel ,male and female which have been wintering here . That was about as good as it got today, oh well things can only improve from here.
The patch list remains on 49

Saturday 12 January 2013

Well today dawned after overnight rain in a very cold manner with a raw easterly wind The Lesser Redpoll was still on the feeders amongst a whole throng of the usual suspects . The weather had an  effect on the local birds with some making themselves scarce and others reappearing .
There was still a good numbers of Gulls on the now disappearing floodwaters, with 200 plus Black Headed Gulls and a few Lesser Black Backed , Common and Herring Gulls for good measure.
A small flock of 3 Pied Wagtails were feeding nearby and 2 Buzzards were calling to each other. A good count of 8 Stock Dove were about.
It is nice to report that winter Thrush"s were back with 27 plus Fieldfare and 100 plus Redwing .
A flock of 115 plus Lapwing flew over low heading south west .
The patch count remain the same.

Friday 11 January 2013

The cold weather has not arrived as forcast, but it supposed to arrive over the weekend ,so it should provide a few new birds if there is any cold weather movement. The big thing at the moment is the amount of birdsong and the complete absence of winter thrush"s, they were really pentiful not but two weeks ago, they must of moved on having used all local food supplies.
Anyhow the garden came up with a Lesser Redpoll on the feeders again ( yesterday there were 2 along with a Coal Tit but no sign of the latter today), and plenty of the usual suspects.
 The patch is still generally quiet , but there was a flock of at least 2700 Starling and 575 plus Lesser Black Backed Gulls with Common(10 plus), Black Headed (50 plus) and Herring Gulls (20 plus) on the wet pasture.There was a flock of 11 Meadow Pipits with a flock of 17 plus Skylark nearby.
A year tick came in the form of a female Yellowhammer ,not such a common bird on the patch.The rest of the hightlights were Greater Spotted Woodpecker, male Kestrel, Buzzard, just 4 Redwing, 1 Fieldfare and a very grey continental Song Thrush, no doubt he or she has flown over here from northern climes .
The patch count now stands at 49.

Wednesday 9 January 2013

The first bird  I heard this morning was a Little Owl calling at 4am ,just as I was getting up for work, I suppose it"s one of the benefits of the job.The Coal Tit and a Lesser Redpoll came to the niger feeder again, considering I had not recorded Lesserc Redpoll on the patch till this year I seem to have seen quite a few this year,although I suspect that all the records relate to the three birds I found at the back end of the year. I also have a niger feeder this year so that may be the difference ,as they say in Waynes World ""If you build they will come"".
A flock of Long Tailed Tits were buzzing around in the garden as well ,so when I left the house I was sure it would be a productive walk, just shows you how wrong you can be.The major numbers were 800 plus Starling and at least 1000 plus Assorted Gulls ,Black Headed ,Lesser Black Backed ,Common and a few Herring Gulls on the now receding floodwaters.Its easy to forget that many of these Gulls would of come from the Baltic and Northern Europe . A small flock of 3 Pied Wagtails had 2 Meadow Pipits tagging along. The rest of the list was made up of Kestrel, Buzzard ,Green Woodpecker and a single Redwing.