Tharbies Bird Observatory - two visits.

Two recent visits to Tharbies. I park in the loop road by the cemetery just north of Sawbridgeworth, walk south a couple of hundred yards, cross the road and up the public footpath one field north of Leventhorpe School, then carry straight on past the end of the wood up to the ridge and stand by the NE corner of the field by Tharbies. I had Swallows almost flying into me from here today.

17th. Some Pied Wagtails in the fields on the way up with Meadow Pipits, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Grey Partridge, 1 Cormorant

21st.

Yellow Wagtail 2
Swallow c40 and House Martin 17 south
c100 Gulls of 4 species, mainly Black Headed
Common Buzzard 3
Sparrowhawk 1f in the large field
Red Kite 1
Linnet c30
Skylark 30+
Meadow Pipit c20
Yellowhammer 3
Starling c20

Accident Narrowly averted at Allen's Green

A car breaked sharply near Allen's Green on Monday 11th June almost causing a car travelling behind to crash into it. The driver, who declined to be named, said " I realise I should have checked in my mirror and it was a bit reckless, but there was a Grey Partridge right by the side of the road and it's not every day you get a close up of one of those."

Wheatears - 19th April

A walk round the high ground west of Sawbridgeworth produced a total of 5 Wheatears; one in the big field at Shingle Hall Farm and 4 together in a paddock in the NE corner of Tharbies. Otherwise Grey Partridge, Red-legged Partridge, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, and a sprinkling of the usual resident birds.

three wheatears in this shot.

It's an ill wind ...

Avoided the horrendous snarl up in Sawbridgeworth this morning by detouring round the back ... and got Grey Partridge in the field south of Blounts Farm.

A walk round a water-logged patch this morning. The field between the horse field and the osier bed below Pishiobury Park is flooded. Through the hedgerow bordering the field I managed to spot 4 Wigeon, 2 Shoveler, low tens of Teal and Gadwall, 2 Mute Swan and a Little Egret.

List updated and now on 73.

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.

Golden Plover back at Trim's Green

a flock of c380 Golden Plover at Trim's Green. In the big field south of the Air Memorial (i.e. two fields south). also c200 Lapwing, c200 Starling, and a Common Buzzard.

For some reason my post of 3 Lesser Redpoll in Pishiobury Park on 22nd didn't get posted so here it is again. My first record of this species in the Park, in the hawthorn clump at the south end of the central hedge row in the dip where it meets the E-W hedge row.

Trim's Green 2nd october

highlight was 2 Peregrine Falcon in the main field. One spent half an hour dismantling a freshly killed Wood Pigeon before flying to a nearby pylon.

Other birds:
Swallow 18 N
Buzzard 1
Kestrel 1m
Yellowhammer 1 over
Skylark
Linnet

Trims Green 19th

brief stop on way to Stortford. Overcast.

Swift 1
Swallow 6
LBBG c30, Herring Gull c20, Common Gull c10, BHG c50