2000 Woodpigeons.

There's always something to see on the Patch, even when there's nothing to see. Today it was a sky filled with Wood Pigeons. I didn't see what put them up. There was some shooting in the area, so may have been that.

Counting was hard, but by the old technique of counting ten in singles, counting a hundred in tens, then counting hundreds, I got to 2000.

Here's a couple of pictures. I think the first has 800 in - this wasn't the only flock in the air - and the next shows some of the birds in the trees.

Flock of about 800 Wood Pigeons

Wood Pigeons in tree tops behind Pishiobury House

Other birds seen included several Yellowhammers, a few Meadow Pipits, a Reed Bunting, and a couple of Little Grebes on the river below Feakes Lock.

Bishops Stortford garden

Tuesday 27 December 2016

Male Blackcap in garden in bushes and then
on bird bath

Pincey Brook Marsh, Hatfield Broad Oak, 27 Dec

a crisp morning walk.

selected list:
Wigeon 1 female a first for me at this site.
Teal c40
Little Egret 2
Common Gull c20
Lapwing 18 flew over high NE
Grey Wagtail 1
Kingfisher 1
Snipe 1
Fieldfare 2
Reed Bunting 1
Goldfinch 5
Buzzard 2

Sawbridgeworth to the old airfield Christmas Eve walk

Turned left out of my drive instead of the usual right. Followed Soutbrook up to the west of Sawbo, then up between the rivers Orchard and West Road, across to West road and back down to Tharbies - some really good trees and hedges here - through toward the high ground then up the very minor road/track that cuts across to the north end of Allen's Green. Right into the huge field, up to the piles of grain in the field, across to Shingle Hall Farm (SHF), down the road to Tharbies again but east into the north of Sawbridgeworth and then home.

Highlights were:
Golden Plover - 44 in the usual field south of SHF with c140 Lapwing.
Fieldfare - 2 flocks, 1 of c110 at Tharbies and one of 78 at SHF. Conceivably these may have been the same birds.
Blackbird. Odd ones and twos, eventually totalling 35 for the whole walk
Collared Dove 46 and Yellowhammer c50 at the grain piles.

Otherwise Kestrel 4, Buzzard 3, Meadow Pipit 16 at SHF, Song Thrush 6, Bullfinch 1m at Tharbies, Great-Spotted Woodpecker 1 called at Tharbies, Skylark 6 by the grain piles.

Also a distant smallish deer at Mathams Wood. Quite dark brown. No idea what species.

Stort - Sawbo to Old Harlow 22nd Dec

A walk to Pishiobury Prk to photograph some of the birds there turned into a walk down to the bridge at Old Harlow then back the other side.

Highlight was a pair of Stonechats behind Rowneybury. They flew over the river then back again, so were notable local records for both Essex and Herts. Otherwise:
Grey Wagtail by the brook on Southbrook
Green Woodpecker on the horse meadow
Meadow Pipit by the railway line
House Sparrow - 2 in the Park and a small group in the impenetrable forest.
Buzzard - 1 over Pishiobury House.
Little Grebe - 1 at Old Harlow

I've started the review of the year with some maps which show where some of the features referred to above on my blog. Rowneybury is just south west of Pishiobury House.

juvenile Mute Swan and Teal on the pond.

Hatfield Forest Sunday AM walk

Bright sunny and mild 8.45am - 10.45am
Some of the birds seen  :-
 
Robin
Great tit 
Blue tit
Coal Tit  1
Bullfinch  1m
Chaffinch
Little Owl  1
Gadwall  2m 2fm
Cormorants  5
Moorhen  5
Tawny Owl  1  (sitting in tree)
Redwing  (large numbers flying from every berry bush)
Fieldfare  75+
Magpie  3
Jay  1
Green Woodpecker  1
Sparrowhawk  1

Hatfield Forest 7/12/16

A quick visit to Hatfield Forest

Jay  2
Magpie  3
Redwing  (to many to count but at least 200)
Jackdaws
Tawny Owl  (sitting in split ash tree) see photo

Sawbo Patch Blackbirds

A quick walk round the patch this morning to clear the head after a night out. About 15-20 Blackbirds around the hawthorns by the Stort the most noticeable feature this morning with similar number of Redwings, well above the usual handful of skulking birds on the patch. Otherwise a Cetti's Warbler from the reeds round the pond, a Green Woodpecker, and a Sparrowhawk over