This is a bit naughty as this sighting was on the pond at the bottom of Aldcliffe Hall Lane but the (3) ringed plovers were lovely and might be heading in the direction of our ponds!
Ringed plover
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Monthly Archives: March 2013
Teal
Three (possibly four) male teal on School Pond this afternoon along with two or three other birds, presumably the females.
Also, pair of pied wagtails in Big Meadow and two wrens flitting around the Grammar School field hedge
Goldfinch
A couple of goldfinch were busy this morning looking for nesting materials in the Lucy Brook hedgerow (down from the Cromwell Road gate). The heron made another brief visit to Cromwell’s Pond.
Redwing
The birds were active around 8am this morning in the top corner of the Hay Meadow by the Cromwell Road gate. They seemed to be taking advantage of the mud created by the cows’ hooves. Some of the cows were just sitting down at the edge of the marsh. Pied wagtail (at least two), blackbird, chaffinch and robin were darting around. More unusual, there were also a couple of redwings. The eye stripe and the red patch on the body beneath the wing were very clear.
Pied wagtail
Pied wagtail feeding around the hooves of one of the cattle in Big Meadow this afternoon.
Kestrel
Kestrel hovering and swooping over Fauna this morning. Also a small flock of small birds in Fauna. They looked at a distance like sparrows but I don’t associate sparrows with ground feeding in fields and flocking. Can anyone enlighten?
Song thrush
Song thrush in the Orchard this afternoon.
Snipe
Three snipe flew up from the Big Meadow rushes this afternoon, soon after seeing a wren sitting still for once on the Pads fence.
Teal and bull finches
We saw our first FAUNA teal this afternoon, apparently a lone male with the three mallards that are often around. This was in Friar’s Pond in the Big Meadow. Then a beautiful pair of bull finches in the Orchard.
A Soggy Saunter
Took a stroll through FAUNA this morning on my way to B&Q (Oh! The glamour) and despite the persistent drizzle I saw and/or heard the following:
- Teal
- Mallard
- Pheasant
- Moorhen
- Lapwing
- Snipe
- Curlew
- Black-headed gull
- Lesser black-backed gull
- Herring gull
- Woodpigeon
- Collared dove
- Meadow pipit
- Pied wagtail
- Grey wagtail
- Wren
- Dunnock
- Robin
- Blackbird
- Song thrush
- Mistle thrush
- Blue tit
- Great tit
- Nuthatch
- Jay
- Magpie
- Jackdaw
- Carrion crow
- Starling
- House sparrow
- Chaffinch
- Greenfinch
- Goldfinch
Given that the weather was horrible and that it’s mid-March (not the most productive of birding months) that’s not a bad tally for a casual and brisk walk through the area. On the plus side I didn’t see any off-lead dogs along the path, which was possibly a first.