It was 4pm and I had to nip to the shops at Knott End so called in at the Twite spot to see if I could improve on my last lot of photos. Despite the constant traffic of people along The Esplanade 15 Twite kept returning to where I waited so I got a few pictures of them, plus a half decent shot of a Rock Pipit before the sun gave up on me.
Twite
Twite
Rock Pipit
I spent most of the earlier afternoon walking on the moss where it was quiet but sunny and I saw the normal early March fare. Buzzards were obvious again today, calling from the vicinity of the woods or overhead as they drifted high in all directions, and I put 4 in my notebook together with 2 Kestrels, the other regular raptor around here.
Buzzard
“Small stuff” consisted of 22 Tree Sparrow, 4 Yellowhammer, 16 Linnet, 4 Goldfinch, 5 Skylark, 2 Reed Bunting and 14 Corn Bunting, most of which fed on the old tailings again. At least 5 Tree Sparrow boxes had activity around them but as usual the birds moved off when I approached too near. Not to worry, all will become clear when the boxes are opened.
Tree Sparrow
Corn Bunting
“Others” today were 4 pairs of Grey Partridge, 2 Little Owl, a single Jay, a return of the Woodpigeons with a count of 64 and 3 Shelduck flying back out towards the coast. Brown Hares were very active today as I witnessed more than one bout of sparring and tearing across the open fields. Four Roe Deer put in an appearance again today as they ran from a wood I approached, making me feel guilty about disturbing them but they are just so hard to spot in a wood and will always see or smell us first.
Roe Deer
I spent most of the earlier afternoon walking on the moss where it was quiet but sunny and I saw the normal early March fare. Buzzards were obvious again today, calling from the vicinity of the woods or overhead as they drifted high in all directions, and I put 4 in my notebook together with 2 Kestrels, the other regular raptor around here.
“Small stuff” consisted of 22 Tree Sparrow, 4 Yellowhammer, 16 Linnet, 4 Goldfinch, 5 Skylark, 2 Reed Bunting and 14 Corn Bunting, most of which fed on the old tailings again. At least 5 Tree Sparrow boxes had activity around them but as usual the birds moved off when I approached too near. Not to worry, all will become clear when the boxes are opened.
“Others” today were 4 pairs of Grey Partridge, 2 Little Owl, a single Jay, a return of the Woodpigeons with a count of 64 and 3 Shelduck flying back out towards the coast. Brown Hares were very active today as I witnessed more than one bout of sparring and tearing across the open fields. Four Roe Deer put in an appearance again today as they ran from a wood I approached, making me feel guilty about disturbing them but they are just so hard to spot in a wood and will always see or smell us first.
Those Twite are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThat must be awesome to see all these wild critters in one day :)
Phil I really mean this....What a nice addition to a trip to the shops and get some excellent pic's into the bargain.
ReplyDeleteTwite and Rock Pipit soon on Birds2blog with my thanks for 'the permit'.
Wonderful series of bird photos! BTW, I love your header shot, a gorgeous bird and photo.
ReplyDeleteSome nice pictures there. I love your title photo!
ReplyDelete