MORNING WALK ACROSS TO CLIFTON MAYBANK
WEATHER; dull and overcast, very cold, some light rain, sleet and later snow. Cold easterly breeze. Temp 1-3C
The weather over the last two days has been pretty bad, wet and windy and even though I went out on both days I never saw much and did not take a single photograph and so there are no blogs for Friday and Saturday.
This morning Dawn and I sat and watched the garden birds for the RSPB national garden bird count, we sat from 9am to 10am. I can’t believe Dawn actually sat still, watching birdies for a whole hour, amazing! We listed our usual 11 regular species:_ Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Robin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Magpie and Crow. Nuthatch and Coal Tit are no longer regulars to the garden, don’t ask me why? We could have added quite a few more species but flyovers and birds outside the garden are not allowed in the count.
Today I walked across to Clifton Maybank via the large grass meadow above the village to the south of the train station, my god it was bitter cold out there. I could hear gun fire coming from Yeo Valley and I guessed that there was a ‘game shoot’ on, such fun!!! From the grass meadow I had views of the sloping fields in the valley, they were covered in corvids and partridges. A mixed flock of well over 200 Jackdaws, Rooks and Crows flew up after the gun fire and I counted 91 Red-legged Partridges running around in the fields.
the Thrush and Buzzard meadow looking towards Clifton Maybank
In the meadow where I was standing I saw about 50 Redwings, 3 Mistle Thrushes, 2 Fieldfares, 2 Buzzards and a Song Thrush was singing from the Alder Trees at the bottom of the field.
two Mistle Thrushes, a Fielfare and a few Redwings
From the meadow above Clifton Maybank House I was able to scope the cow fields around Broadclose Farm, I counted 10 Little Egrets, 24 Herring Gulls and a couple of Collared Doves sat on a telegraph pole. More Redwings flew into the Horbeam trees that were close by.
Song Thrush, Buzzard and a Redwing
Buzzard and Redwings
It was really cold at Clifton Maybank I was facing south-east and the wind was right in my face, so I turned back and walked around the large grass meadow above Stoford.
looking towards Broadclose Farm from Clifton Maybank meadows, the Egrets were 'scoped in the fields beyond the tall Lombardy Poplar Tree
I spent quite a while watching a good selection of thrushes, this time around I counted 149 Redwings, 2 Fieldfares, 5 Mistle Thrushes, 3 Song Thrushes, 3 Blackbirds and 3 Common Buzzards. Most of my time was spent trying to get as many different thrushes into one picture, I’m afraid I only managed three species.
Mistle Thrush