Garden watch 26.01.10

A brief period keeping an eye on the garden feeders realised a good list of local birds along with a stranger. A male pheasant (shown here) was feeding on the wheat spilt from a feeder. Very pleased at this as it means I won't have a flowerbed resembling a wheat field in June. In all: great tit, blue tit, coal tit, blackbird, robin, jackdaw, collared dove, wood pigeon, goldfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch, dunnock, wren, house sparrow, redwing and fly over sparrow hawk, carrion crow and 3 black headed gulls. Not too bad for less than half an hour.

Ash Valley Golf course 23.01.10

A breezy and cold walk around the footpaths south west of The Ford. A reasonable selection of the resident winter birds were recorded with 8 lesser black backed gulls heading north. Several parties of long tailed tit were seen, good to see after the freeze. One party adjacent to the 2nd fairway numbered in excess of 15. A male bullfinch was also recorded in this area whilst 50 fieldfare and 35 redwings were discovered feeding on the par 3 course next to the club house. Distant photo here. Also depicted are a shot of the flooded footpath near the 2nd green and the River Ash, flowing with the recent melt water.

North of the A120 : 19.01.10

A walk to the lagoons around Hadham Hall gave little to view. A solitary grey heron in a field near Hadham Lodge was the best of a quiet wander. On the main lagoon, several canada geese had taken up residence along with 7 mallards, 1 mute swan and the 2 resident feral duck.
Several moorhens were on the ice free water in front of Hadham Hall. A common buzzard was observed, being mobbed by 2 carrion crows near the village hall. Poor light limited the photography, with a distant shot of the grey heron being shown here.

Strange garden visitor 10.01.10

Spent a hour watching and photographing garden birds at and around the feeder. A good garden bird was discovering a moorhen on the garden fence and pecking around under the seed feeders. Looked very out of place. A good garden list with song thrush (photographed) blue tit (photo) blackbird(photo) starling (photo) great tit, jackdaw, goldfinch, chaffinch, house sparrow, collared dove, robin (photo) wood pigeon, dunnock, greenfinch and coal tit (photo)

After this, a walk to The Bull and back at Much Hadham gave views of kestrel, sparrow hawk and common buzzard as well as magpie, green woodpecker and a marsh tit was heard near the River Ash.

Also, very many thanks to Sandra and John for inviting me around to view their garden visiting woodpecker. Although I only managed a brief glimpse I did manage to get a shot of long tailed tits at their feeder (see above). In all, 6 were present and good to see such numbers during this very cold snap.

To Tescos and back 07.01.10

A morning walk in good snow to the shops and back gave an opportunity to do a little cold weather birding. Nothing unusual was seen, but birds not seen were of interest. No sign of the redwing and fieldfare that have been prevalent for 6 weeks or so in large numbers (100+) Also, more worryingly, no long tailed tits. These tiny birds can be hit hard in cold weather and this prolonged spell may well have decreased the population markedly. Presumably the winter thrushes have moved south west in order to find better feeding grounds. I shall certainly keep an eye and ear open for local long tailed tit sightings. Green and great spotted woodpecker were seen, magpies, goldfinches and yellowhammers appeared to be everywhere.

I have received a report of a lesser spotted woodpecker visiting a village garden and hopefully shall get the opportunity to stake it out in the next few days.

Photos attached show a "Christmassy robin" (next year's Christmas card?), a female kestrel and views from around Brick Kiln Hill and Millfield Lane. The first view shows the village pub and Chapel Lane from the hill opposite.

Frosty and cold: 05.01.10

A first wander of the New Year, in minus temperatures, from Tesco's through Cradle End, Green Street, Millfield Lane and Hoecroft Lane. Usual bird sightings with highlights being 2 parties of bullfinches, both a male and female shown here near Cradle End. Also, plenty of goldfinch, greenfinch and yellowhammer activity near pheasant feeders. Jays and magpies argued along Hoecroft Lane and a great spotted woodpecker in Millennium Wood. The top photo shows a view from this wood, along with frost tinged oak leaves.A strutting cock pheasant also shown, along the footpath from Green Street to Millfield Lane.

End of the year overview: 31.12.09

A most successful year, adding many new species to the parish list. As far as birds ; 13 new species: kingfisher, teal, little grebe, mute swan, yellow wagtail, coot, wheatear, little egret, tufted duck, spotted flycatcher, mandarin, ringed plover and turtle dove. All good birds.

small copper, painted lady, clouded yellow an purple hairstreak were new butterflies, whilst emperor and black tailed skimmers were added to the dragonfly list.

All pleasing records and a few possibles for 2010:

birds: lesser spotted woodpecker, greylag goose, several duck sp, reed warbler

butterflies: white letter hairstreak

Be interesting to see what does occur and if the mud continues to show at the lagoon then the possibility of a migratory wader dropping in is feasible. In this case, almost anything is possible, from dunlin to godwits.
Happy New Year to all readers.

Above is one of my favourite photos from 2009, a grey partridge defending its young

on a footpath south of the Ford

Chapel Lane and garden watch 27.12.09

A morning walk up Chapel Lane, through the footpath and on to the golf course footpaths. A nuthatch called from the oaks on the footpath and several mistle thrushes flew overhead. Still large numbers of winter thrushes, with plenty in the garden feeding on the holly berries and the ornamental cherry. A single lesser black backed gull headed east.

Back at the garden, I counted 17 species, with many at the feeders and fruit trees. Shown here in a conifer are goldfinch, blue tit and female chaffinch

Christmas Eve wander: 98th bird species found.

A wander back from Tescos north of the A120 proved successful as I stopped to check on the lagoon. Here, a new bird for my parish list was evident: a little grebe. (shown above) This, the 98th species for the parish, had probably moved from frozen water to the lagoon which is presently ice free. Be interesting to see how long it stays.

Other notable birds were a kingfisher at the dragonfly pond (4th parish record), a solitary song thrush, several fine male bullfinches along hedgerows near Hadham Hall and a single kestrel. Numbers were supplied by fieldfares and redwings, both in excess of 100.

Other photos show a female great spotted woodpecker and the mute swan, still on the lagoons.

Village Nature Walk 20.12.09

In superbly bright conditions 8 of us set off through the village and on to the Ridge footpath, heading for The Bull in Much Hadham. Birding was tricky due to the cold but a highlight was seeing a little owl, albeit at a distance, roosting in a barn. Later, on the return journey, we got better but brief views.

Also a common buzzard, kestrel, skylarks and thrushes were seen along with over 1000 wood pigeon. Herring gulls and a single black headed gull flew overhead in a southerly direction and both coal tit and goldcrest were heard in the conifers near Winding Hill. We returned along the Ash Valley without adding too much to the list. A super walk in great company.

Photos show Vine House in Much Hadham and a female garden chaffinch.