First, a song thrush singing in the Orchard.
In Pony Wood these two young magpies were waiting for an adult to feed them.
This juvenile lapwing was by the Flora middle pond both in the morning and again in the evening yesterday.
This oystercatcher flew in for a wash and brush-up and a drink in the evening last night.
Two song thrushes amongst a gang of blackbirds in the Orchard on Tuesday 28th January
After a cold and misty start a bright sunny morning presented a wide collection of small birds through the orchard today. The stars of the show were pairs of Reed Buntings and Bullfinches along with a solitary Nuthatch. Great Tits, Blue Tits, Hedge Sparrows and Goldfinches were also about in good numbers
Once again I forgot to post this prior to the session but here is the record of what we did.
The warm and sunny weather continued and attracted 14 volunteers to the Saturday volunteering session. Ian continued the collection of signed consent forms under the GDPR, tedious but legal.
A couple more sightings from Michael:
Stoat seen running around the Orchard stones Sunday morning, and three hares (one being chased off by another) near Pony Wood early this morning.
Video clip of three hares (12 MB)
Yesterday the arable field was ploughed and the tractor was followed by numerous Lesser Black-backed and Herring gulls.
Also seen were lapwing (2 initially and 6 at the end of the day).
On the ploughed field we also saw a wheatear, probably on its migration to Greenland or Canada.
Butterflies seen included tortoiseshell, orange-tip and peacock.
I have also been asked to mention that an early morning walker has seen 8 shelduck on recent mornings plus a nuthatch in the Orchard and regular hare sightings.
Can anyone identify this flower, to be found under the big trees just to the east of the stumps?
And there was a song thrush in the Orchard this afternoon.
Two pairs of goosander on the School Pond this lunchtime.
Yesterday another sighting of a hare in Big Meadow and long tailed tit in the Orchard
Whilst marking out the beetle banks ready for the ploughman yesterday I put up a snipe from the marshy area alongside Aldcliffe Road and then disturbed a brown hare which ran off across the Flora Field.
On my way home a song thrush was serenading the Orchard from the trees by the Towneley Close entrance.
We saw a stoat today In the margin of Flora Field close to the Long Pads. I was attracted by something white moving around but a good view showed that it had patches of brown and black on it. Is this the transition between winter and summer coat ? The usual flock of linnets were there, startled by joggers and by the Orchard cross roads a superb male bull finch, a flock of long-tailed tits, and we heard a song thrush.