Whilst preparing for my mock exams, I still tried to fit in as much patch birding as possible and I was rewarded with some great sightings at both Beddington Farmlands and Upper Woodcote. Here are some of the highlights that I have not managed to post about until now...
On the 2nd of February, one of the Little Owls at Upper Woodcote (above and below) actually showed itself for once and was surprisingly close and curious to see what I was doing.
Little Owl above and below
On the 5th, an all day session at the Farmlands ended rather well. I spotted this lovely Jack Snipe in front of the South Lake hide (much to Sue's delight). It sat still for ages, except for the occasional amusing bobbing motion. On the same say, 2 Stonechats were a nice addition and made the effort of walking around Bikers Field worth it.
Jack Snipe above and below
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| Male Stonechat |
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| Female-type Stonechat |
Upper Woodcote, 25th February:
Great Tit above and below
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| Record shot (finally) of the female Bullfinch |
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| At least 6 Buzzards displaying and fighting for territory |
On the 26th I took another trip down to the Farmlands. I found a 1st winter Caspian Gull, plus a Great Crested Grebe was present and the Shelducks were getting feisty.
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| Male Shelducks |
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| Great Crested Grebe in front of female Tufted Duck |
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| 1st winter Caspian Gull |
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| 1st winter Caspian Gull |
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| (2nd winter?) Herring Gull - paling iris and bill colouration appears too advanced to be a 1st cycle bird |
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| 1st winter Herring Gull |
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| 1st winter Herring Gull |
I was at Beddington again on the 5th of March:
I found this adult Mediterranean Gull:
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| Got the usual 2nd winter Caspian Gull in the background there too |
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| Usual 2nd winter Caspian Gull |
The following day, a late adult Great Black-backed Gull flew over and the male Kestrel perched close, as did an obliging Redwing:
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| Male Shelduck |
Adult Great Black-backed Gull below:
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| Common Buzzard |
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| Male Kestrel |
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| Redwing |
Beddington Farmlands, 8th March:
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| The Barnacle Goose (which was a patch tick when it initially turned up) finally showed well from public viewing |
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| Anand also managed to get it just before it flew off after I called him to come and get it |
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| Closeup Canada Goose |
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| Male and female Pintail flew around 100 Acre |
The usual 2nd winter Caspian Gull showed well:
Grey Wagtail above and below
This takes me nicely up to the start of spring migration, which my next blogpost (hopefully soon) will be about.
