The first bird of the year for me was a Blackbird - calling in the garden before it got daylight. I took my usual walk around the town early New Years Day and then went down into Churwell Woods just after lunch. In the woods a Grey Wagtail was pottering about in the stream - a rare visitor here though this one must like it as it's still about now.
Redwings
Chaffinch
More Redwings - this year there has been more than usual and they've stayed around several weeks now.
Blackbird
Black-headed Gull
Crow
Pied Wagtail
Rook
Magpie
Some of the Black-headed Gulls near home
Dunnock
Robin
The garden has been busy, a constant flow of birds (and Squirrels) and it's daylight early enough in the day now that I can garden watch a little before I leave for work.
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Long-tailed Tit
Blackbird
Collared Dove - this one perched on the hanging basket by the house and had a good nosy through the window!
Not the best shot but it's all a managed to get of this Chaffinch - a rare garden visitor
We've only had very light covering of snow and some hard frosts so far this year and at the moment the weather seems to be warming up.
In the garden flowers are starting to bloom, Snowdrops have spread themselves all over my flower beds, most haven't quite opened yet. The Hellabore however is in full bloom. Bluebells have been showing for about three weeks.
Hellabore
Bluebells
Snowdrops
Back to the birds and I had a very nice patch tick of a Peregrine back in January and it seems to have taken up residence for now, it'll be interesting to see if he stays around more permanently! Last Friday I managed to tick Pink-footed Geese from the bathroom at 10pm at night, luckily for me they were making a lot of noise as they flew over.
My daughters swears she saw a Owl fly past the house one morning at dawn a couple of weeks ago, now we know there is a couple not too far from us, just off the patch, so it's not out of the realm of possibilities, something to try and check out further.
So far so good and I still haven't managed to check out one of the parks properly yet!
Good morning Pam: You have obviously had a fine start to your year with a variety of interesting species. If the Peregrine Falcon sticks around it would be really interesting to try to identify its prey; sometimes severed heads will provide the evidence you need! I envy you the snowdrops in your garden. We are about four weeks away from spring bloom here. If you locate the owl be sure to let us know which species.
ReplyDeleteWe've already had a half eaten Golden Plover underneath it's perching spot, not a bird i've ever seen on the patch! My neighbours Snowdrops have been flowering since just after Christmas, the weather here can be quite odd at this time of year, we're expecting a mini heatwave this weekend?!
Delete27 is a great start! You had some great birds in your list. I am excited about the migrants that are on the way and I look forward to their arrival, the spring flowers are really lovely for sure! It's always a bit scary to think frost can come along and take spring away...we have the same threat here too.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to them too. Yes the weather is so changeable, this time last year we had bad snowstorms, this weekend, we are due a mini heatwave!
DeleteThat's a great start to the year. How wonderful to see the redwings and pink footed geese. We've noticed that the robins and collard doves do come and sit close to the windows especially if they are waiting for the ground and window feeders to be topped up with nibbles:)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, they do seem to be waiting impatiently for the food at times don't they! I love seeing the Redwings, I tend to go out of my way a little on my walk to work to make sure I see them - make the most of them before they are gone!
DeleteA great start to the year Pam. Pink footed geese are a good "tick" :) We don't get Chaffinches very often here these days. I do hope the Peregrine stays around and you get successful with the owl search :)
ReplyDeleteThere's quite a few Chaffinch in the park in the centre of town but although it's only about a ten minute walk away they are so rare in the garden! I hope it does too! We've a few fruitless searches with the owls over the past couple of years so we'll see!
DeleteSo grate to see whats going on your patch, did have a grey wagtail at the park a few years back but not sen one for some time. I think Chaffinch and Greenfinch numbers are low too.Also not had as many Redwing this year.
ReplyDeleteHope the Peregrine stayed about, a bird I have not seen knowingly as well as Pink footed. Super photos.
Amanda xx
About maybe 7 or 8 years ago we had a couple that hung around all winter, even ventured into the garden but that's been it until now! Funnily enough my husband sent me a photo of a Greenfinch on our feeder (whilst I was at work!!!) yesterday, first time in a long time, there is only a handful around. Well if you make your way over this way in an afternoon the Peregrine is pretty much a guaranteed spot at the moment! Thanks :) xx
Deleteexciting photos...thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletehave a great day