So all we did was walk around the village taking in the arctic vistas.
This is NOT a snow scene. Its a photo to show the snow right down to the tideline. Click on it and you will see that this isn't a 'frosting', its a solid couple of inches right up to the waves. I haven't seen so much snow right on the coast for a very long time.
A main feature of the day was the large movement of Pink footed Geese heading south. Parties passed by all day and I managed over 1,750 by dark. They were joined by 20 Greylags and two parties of Whooper Swans totalling 13 birds.
We kept the birds fed all day. This Mistle Thrush had its fill but unusually it was quite a placid creature, sharing the table with Blackbird and Starling alike. Also in the garden were 7 Tree Sparrows, 2 Yellowhammers and a Woodcock, the first of 3 today.
Around the village the cold was definitely having an effect on the birds. The Skylarks in the back field looked very poorly and I tried to pick one up but it flew off so I left them to it. A lot have moved on now leaving about 140 in the flock. 15 Grey Partridges ( 12 above) had joined them.
Along the lane was good first thing with Marsh Tit, a Brambling S and 3 Kingfishers chasing around an open field against the snow before moving into the pond field. The pond was totally frozen so these birds will be driven to the shore to feed. One of the Ravens showed well and later went to roost alone, without any sign of its mate?
A cracking male Peregrine sat in the snow would have made a good subject but flew off too soon for a photo and frightened the life out of the Larks.
The 'On Foot...' List additions today -
Birds -
Greylag
Cormorant
Pheasant
Snipe
Marsh Tit
Brambling
Kingfisher
Peregrine
Moorhen
Whooper Swan
Total - 68
Mammals -
Brown Hare 2
Total - 3.
Moths -
White shouldered House Moth 2 ( well they all count....)
Total - 1
7 comments:
Ive had enough of this snow and ice now Stewart, I came across a poorly Robin in the woods today, it was almost begging me for something to eat. All I could do was kick up a load of leaf litter for it!
I had a fantastic day yesterday with four first-time sightings for my home patch. Today I passed a fieldfare, a real rarity for my valley in South Wales.
http://ninjameys.wordpress.com
A good day then Stewart.
A "placid" Mistle Thrush.... that`s almost unheard of.
Bit of a worry isn't it?
I've kept the feeders full, the ground below clear and loads of food out but garden populations around here seem to have vanished rapidly in the past week or so.
Hello all.
Warren - Yup me an'all....
Nin - The hard weather will move birds westerly towards you...
Dean - The Mistler has reverted to form. The bird table is now his and everything else gets a good booting. It half plucked at Blackbird this afternoon.
Alan - Just keep on feeding Alan. Have you been blogging lately?
Been birding Stew, even went sea-watching on Thursday with TC, but I've lost interest in blogging.
I prefer to just get out and enjoy it, without having to spend time telling others about it.
''Let them find their own stuff'', thats my new motto for 2010.
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