Saturday, November 10, 2007
We did a round walk today from Scutchamer Knob, Oxfordshire. As we drove up the long road from East Hendred to the Ridgeway some chaffinches flew away from the car beneath the huge beech trees - and I thought I saw a white rump amongst them.
The autumn colours were lovely and it was great to be out. Yellowhammers and stonechats were the best of the small birds; and as we walked the road link between Knollend and Wether Downs, Greger spotted seven grey partridges in the field on the Berkshire side. We had a quick look at them through the bins before they took off and flew up the north side of Old Down.
On Wether Down three red kites hunted very close to us - in fact, it sometimes felt as though they were hunting us! Fieldfares and a mistle thrush were seen, and a nuthatch called from the out-of-bounds woodland.
As we finished lunch Greger pointed out two kites above the trees behind us. They were both chasing a small bird. One managed to catch it and wheeled away with it in its talons - but the second kite harassed it until the prey was dropped. It was clearly already dead because the body just plummeted to the ground. I went over to see what it was but couldn't find it; it looked quite dark as it was falling and was possibly a redwing.
Back at the car, Greger had a coffee and a read of the paper while I walked down the road to where I had seen the chaffinches - and sure enough, at least one brambling was present. It's always a buzz to see them!
The autumn colours were lovely and it was great to be out. Yellowhammers and stonechats were the best of the small birds; and as we walked the road link between Knollend and Wether Downs, Greger spotted seven grey partridges in the field on the Berkshire side. We had a quick look at them through the bins before they took off and flew up the north side of Old Down.
On Wether Down three red kites hunted very close to us - in fact, it sometimes felt as though they were hunting us! Fieldfares and a mistle thrush were seen, and a nuthatch called from the out-of-bounds woodland.
As we finished lunch Greger pointed out two kites above the trees behind us. They were both chasing a small bird. One managed to catch it and wheeled away with it in its talons - but the second kite harassed it until the prey was dropped. It was clearly already dead because the body just plummeted to the ground. I went over to see what it was but couldn't find it; it looked quite dark as it was falling and was possibly a redwing.
Back at the car, Greger had a coffee and a read of the paper while I walked down the road to where I had seen the chaffinches - and sure enough, at least one brambling was present. It's always a buzz to see them!
// posted by Christine @ 9:50 AM 
