Saturday 14 November 2009

Despite the high winds and rain, a productive morning

Pretty good mornings birding in bad weather.

Sites visited, in reverse order.

Grendon Underwood layby; just off A41 on road to Grendon Church.Park and view from metal gate. Even in gloomy conditions many hundreds of birds seen; spotted a 'ball'of small birds dropping down then back into hedge. Suspected Sparrows and although mostly House there were at least 11 TREE SPARROWS, feeding in cut Maize field on left side viewed from gate. Also seen, c300 Lapwing, hundreds of Corvids, gulls, Woodpigeons. c 500 Starling, c200 Fieldfare, c60 Linnet, c 50 Chaffinch (think had Brambling with them)/46 Stock Dove/24 Skylark. Interesting distant group of mixed Skylark, Meadow Pipits and Reed Bunting on edge of ploughed field, but too gloomy to go through them properly. All birds either over or adjacent to the still to be completed new BBOWT Gallows bridge reserve, which rather handily is on the best undisturbed block of farmland in mid-Bucks!!

Hillesden; Large adult PEREGRINE over pools then seen twice more over valley bottom/ c300 Fieldfare/ mixed flock of c 250 Finches on set a side strip/ c200 Greylag/ work started on new scrapes.

Calvert; sailing lake; 7 Shoveler

Calvert BBOWT; Water rail on East bank/21 Pochard/ c 300 Fieldfare over fields behind East bank (Tim Watts)

No comments: