Double Day Birds

I found a couple of hours to go birding on Tuesday morning before granddad duties called. There was even a little sun to help the walk along, and fingers crossed, we so far seem to lack the six weeks of promised wind and rain. 

As per last week a Song Thrush was in unseasonal good voice again from the trees at Fluke Hall. Otherwise it seemed pretty quiet apart from the resident and easily found Blackbirds, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtails and a couple of titmice flocks. 

There are some useful flashes of water on the fields adjoining Fluke Hall and it was here I counted a good mix of 35 Redshank, 40+ Lapwing, 45 Oystercatcher, 15 Curlew, 1 Snipe, 40+ Woodpigeon and hundreds of corvids. 

Redshank

Curlew

It’s often the case; the crows and Jackdaws drew my attention to a Sparrowhawk flying off along the sea wall, and although I followed along, there wasn’t much chance of getting close views of the shy raptor. There was a Rock Pipit feeding quietly along the tide wrack and then a little further along an equally quiet Skylark, and out on the marsh 10 Whooper Swans, 80 + Shelduck and 7 Little Egret. 

On and around the wildfowlers’ pools were still hundreds of “mallards”, dozens of Red-legged Partridge, 6 Teal, 3 or more Reed Bunting, 6 + Linnet. 

With a fine morning in prospect Andy and I pencilled in Wednesday for a ringing session near Oakenclough. The session didn’t disappoint with a catch of 35 birds, 23 new plus 12 recaptures from the last few weeks of ringing. 

The 23 new birds comprised of a good selection of species, finches named first: 5 Chaffinch, 5 Goldfinch, 3 Greenfinch, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 4 Blue Tit, 1 Robin, 1 Great Tit, 1 Treecreeper, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Robin. 

Greenfinch

 Chaffinch

Lesser Redpoll

Rather unusually every single recapture proved to be a Coal Tit. Anyone familiar with the feeding habits of Coal Tits will know how the species does not linger at bird tables and feeders but instead spends as little time as possible at a food source, quickly taking an item, flying off with it and then returning again and again. In can be quite exhausting simply watching this puzzling and apparently tiring ritual but it’s all to do with the Coal Tit’s strategy of taking food and storing it for later consumption. 

Coal Tit

Birding while ringing was quiet with the subdued calls of Bullfinch heard on a couple of occasions as well as the single unmistakeable nasal sound of a Brambling soon after first light. Otherwise we both enjoyed the steady session which allowed us time to study and enjoy in full the birds we caught. 

There’s more birding and ringing soon from , assuming of course I survive Thursday’s ‘flu jab.

Linking today to Anni's birding.