Around the Patch

A little look around the patch over the past few weeks, I walk through the park in the town centre most mornings on the way to work and i'm still squeezing in a visit into the woods before work a couple of times a week too, plus I visited a bit of a neglected (by me!) park at the other side of town.

There has been work going on in this park, a new children's play area and the old tennis court and unfortunately a lot of surrounding trees/bushes which were great for Tits and Finches have been removed to make way for an all weather pitch (I think). Still there are a lot of birds around though definitely not as many of the smaller song birds as usual.

Dartmouth Park

I've seen lots of nesting Woodpigeons and Magpies all around the patch and seen plenty of other birds gathering materials too including the first Blackcap of the year this past week.

In the woods the Woodpecker has been drumming regularly, there are Nuthatches, Song and Mistle Thrush, all the usual Tits, Robins, Dunnocks, Woodpigeons, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Doves and Blackbirds. I've not seen a Treecreeper again after the one on the 1st January.

I've taken the camera with me on the way to work a couple of times, I saw my last pair of Redwing on the 9th April on a foggy football pitch, the latest i've seen any here.

There are lots of signs of spring around finally, it's good to see, Bluebells are even out in the woods this week.

There was a Sparrowhawk in the garden at the end of March, sat in the top of the Laburnum as the Sparrows were coming in to roost.

A different bird to this one I saw the following day over the town centre

And not the same one that was in the stand off with the Magpies?

Elsewhere in the garden the birds are in full song and there are a lot in and out of the garden. A couple of Chiffchaff have passed through too. A pair of Starlings have been nest building in the gutter as happens every year. Sparrows have been collecting materials and the Robin has paired up over the weekend. Also just over a week ago we had the first Hedgehog in the garden this year and it's been back most nights since. 

Now bring on the Swallows and Swifts!

St Aidan's & Fairburn

Last Sunday we spent the day in the at St Aidan's and then Fairburn. Another good day weather wise though the rain had left things muddy and still flooded in places. But we're used to that!

At St Aidan's there'd been Whimbrels spotted but we dipped on those however my husband did find a Black-tailed Godwit hiding behind a couple of Mallards, my first one in a while.

We could hear Bitterns booming all around, some seemed really close but of course we didn't see any sign of any. We did see lots of Reed Bunting, Gadwall, Gulls, Pochard, Lapwing, Little & Great Crested Grebe amongst others.

Chiffchaff where calling too. Overhead we saw Buzzard and Kestrel and up in the trees on the hillside a Green Woodpecker. A Hare ran up the hill and there were quite a few geese on it. Around the paths lots of Meadow Pipit plus Skylarks and a Wheatear.

At Fairburn the sight from the Kingfisher screen.......a Heron in a tree!

Instead of going around the coal tips we walked down the lake trail instead, only as far as the Bob Dickens hide though. We spotted a pair of Blackcaps in the trees and again could hear Chiffchaff all around.

From the hide we saw several Great Crested Grebe, Gulls, Gadwall and a few Mallard.

The sun was out by now and off to the side of the hide a couple of Brimstone butterflies were flying around.  They were too quick for the camera though, so was this Ladybird that was disappearing round the back of the stem.

This Chiffchaff was singing at the very top of the tree by the visitors centre.

It was t-shirt weather by the time we were leaving.....finally a hint of spring, maybe even summer!