MORNING WALK INTO YEO VALLEY
WEATHER: a dull and chilly start to the day, but by 10am it cleared into a lovely day.
I haven't much to report today as things seemed really quiet as far as activity was concerned, however there was still a lot of bird song. The Goldcrest was singing in the Sycamore Trees in the garden which is always a good start and I heard a Cuckoo calling from south of the village which is a far cry from its normal patch, perhaps it was a second bird?
At the Nuthatch site I saw the male in the tree but he never approached the nest hole and the Green Woodpecker nest hole was also deserted. I saw Grey Wagtail fledglings on the river and the male Barn Swallow was sitting on the delerict building I am pretty sure they will nest in there.
a cloudy dull morning
There was no sign of any Kingfishers, the hole looks deserted but you never know, I didn't wait around for long. Two parties of Long-tailed Tits worked their way along the row of stream-side trees, I counted 12 individuals in one of the groups.
the Eurasian Nuthatch sitting above the nest hole
A pair of Mandarin Ducks flushed from the water quite early on in the walk and later I caught up with them further down the stream. I got very close them but to get a good photo was impossible as they were directly below me close to the bank.
the male Mandarin Duck seen through foliage in the stream
Both Chiffchaff and Blackcap are busy below the 'bramble slope', they are collecting food for their respective chicks and so are the Ravens that fly over every day. Common Buzzards were quite numerous high up in the sky, I saw 6 altogether.
I finshed the walk quite early, I was a bit cold and a little fed up, I think I will go somewhere else tomorrow. The sky was clearing as I got back home. I scoped the meadow and found Red-legged Partridges.
Red-legged Partridge