Friday, November 27, 2009
Littleworth Common
A walk in the Beeches late afternoon brought loads of chaffinches and redwings. It was nice and still after all the horrendous winds we've had lately, but it was already getting too dark to see.
I stopped off at Littleworth Common with the moon rising over the bare trees. There were at least twenty redwings and a great spotted woodpecker. Five small blobs at the top of a birch turned out to be redpolls; and as I was leaving, two geese went flying north - I was too slow to see if they were the"odd pair" of barnacle and Egyptian, but I had been alerted to their passing by a nasal sort of call which I'll have to research.
(On another visit to the Beeches recently, I heard the call that I thought might be a redwing; I tracked it down - and it was a great tit! It wasn't the first time I've been hoodwinked by a great tit and no doubt it won't be the last - they seem to have an inexhaustible supply of different calls. However, it's still a very nice sound.)
Thursday evening
We went to Dorney Wetlands, where Greger did a route march to the weir and I hung around near the bridges hoping to hear the Cetti's. I didn't, but a little egret fishing on West Marsh was a nice sight. Negotiating the boardwalk (which is pretty slippery when wet) I was startled by a splash, and just caught a glimpse of a water rail darting round the edge of the reedbed. As I left, there was a brief squealing duet so two birds at least are present.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Burnham Beeches
A fairly early walk in the Beeches in poor light brought at least twenty-five redpolls. As far as I could make out they were all lesser.
Two bramblings were feeding in the leaf litter with chaffinches and great tits, and at least ten redwings were seen.
Given that thousands of wood pigeons have been recorded leaving these shores, it's a mystery to me how there can still be so many left! They're a flaming nuisance, flapping about all over the place and spooking the smaller birds when they suddenly fly up through the trees.
Given that thousands of wood pigeons have been recorded leaving these shores, it's a mystery to me how there can still be so many left! They're a flaming nuisance, flapping about all over the place and spooking the smaller birds when they suddenly fly up through the trees. Monday, November 09, 2009
Burnham Beeches
A brief visit this morning brought a brambling feeding on the ground with chaffinches and great tits. These two mighty oaks are where I saw my first ever lesser spotted woodpecker. It was a male and I watched it for ages. I don't linger under these trees now however; the right-hand one shows the scar of recent damage, when a branch and a section of the trunk sheered off.
The day had a sort of symmetry to it because returning in the late afternoon looking for redpolls, I got a glimpse of a lesser spotted woodpecker near Hardicanute's Moat. It was very high up and looked incredibly tiny. A nuthatch shouldered it away - and maybe it didn't like my bins either, because it flew off.I tried to relocate it but in the darkening woods of tall trees, many of them still with leaves on, it was an impossible task.
I stopped off at Littleworth Common on the way back, walking out into the clearing and waiting in the dusk for delectable items like owls and woodcocks. What I actually got was a barnacle goose, flying north in the company of an Egyptian goose! I recall that some years ago, a barnacle and greylag used to knock around together locally, often dropping in at Dorney Lake.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Burnham Beeches
I started off this morning with a tramp through Egypt Woods. A ringing call repeated several times from deep in the woods reminded me of a similar call I heard once in Sweden - in fact, I'm sure it was the same. On that occasion, I traced it to a singing redwing and assumed it was part of the song. I never saw today's bird so I'm not sure; but it's a nice sound to hear - slightly trilling, and in tone rather like a mistle thrush.
A buzzard landed on a bare branch nearby - and, seeing me as it touched down, took off again in the same movement.
In the Beeches I saw redwings flying about above the trees until finally one perched quite close. Pity about all the intervening twigs, but that's how I saw it.
Also in the Beeches were my first bramblings of the autumn. Two were feeding on rowan berries in the company of chaffinches. Later, I saw one in a silver birch with redpolls.
I counted at least ten redpolls, but I'm sure there were more. Sudden sharp alarm calls rang out - and there was a sparrowhawk, circling overhead. A flock of about thirty small birds went up and mobbed it.
I blame the shocking pictures on the poor light (it was drizzling at one point). Never mind, I've got a whole winter to get some better ones. All dogs encountered were benign ones, and I was interrogated about my "noculars" by a small boy called Joshua. Quite a nice morning.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Dorney Wetlands
I think they're going for the most-people-plus-a-cow-on-top-of-a-hill record.
Twenty-nine golden plovers were on the long island. When the rain stopped and the evening sun suddenly shone out they looked fabulous.
The Cetti's warbler was singing and muttering to itself in the boardwalk area. I had a brief but good view of it in a small willow before it flew across to the reeds.
