Saturday, November 16, 2013
It was a beautiful morning, and we left the house in high spirits. By the time we parked up on the downs it was grey and overcast, and we hadn't been walking long before it began to drizzle.
There were loads of starlings on Cow Down, leading to hopes of a merlin. A flock of corn buntings flew over with their "static" clicks; a reed bunting was amongst them. On top of Old Down, three golden plover flew west.
I had begun to despair of anything really exciting but said I would be happy with a stonechat; and as we walked up the track to Scutchamer, I finally spotted one ahead. Greger pointed to a second bird closer to us.
There was nothing more in the birdy line until just before the car park at Bury Down. Looking back once more at the owls' scrub I got onto three birds flying quite fast across the Ridgeway. The birds were waders, smaller than golden plover, and were probably dunlin, although I couldn't swear to long enough bills. They were flying to the north-east which would put them on course for Dorchester or Otmoor.
// posted by Christine @ 11:53 AM 
