Friday 1 March 2019

A Walk in the Park(s)

We were out by 8.30 in lovely sunshine on Sunday morning to walk up to Dartmouth Park, I hadn't managed to go yet this year. By the time we got there fog had rolled in and then soon rolled out again. In fact the two or so hours we were out another three blankets of fog enveloped us, all were followed by bright sun! A very odd morning.


There were lots of birds out and a lot of birdsong, we saw Magpies, Woodpigeons and a Starling all collecting twigs. Redwings, Mistle and Song Thrush were all foraging on the ground under the trees but were easily spooked - there are a lot of dog walkers here.

You can seen the difference as we walked round the park, the sun and fog pictures were within about 20 minutes of each other.



Mistle Thrush


Crow


Goldfinch



The warm weather has brought flowers into bloom and there are lots of buds on the trees and shrubs




This Robin sang us out of the park


The lure of a bacon sandwich had us walking into the town centre with a detour around Scatcherd Park on the way. 

A Rook (in the fog!)



Crocus a few minutes later in the sun!


I've heard a Woodpecker drumming in the park here a couple of mornings on the way to work recently, i've not managed to see it and there was no sign today unfortunately. I've only heard one once before here so maybe it was just passing through? 

We headed through a churchyard hidden at the back of some shops so my daughter could show me a recently discovered grave belonging to my husbands great great grandparents, we also managed to spot our only Wren of the day singing nearby. My daughter pointed out a Pied Wagtail flying overhead, there is a couple of them around the centre at the moment and they are very vocal!

Back to find a couple Greenfinch in the garden, my husband had seen them on the feeder earlier in the week and they were back again, not for long but a great rare garden spot!


12 comments:

  1. I am amazed at how far spring has advanced where you are. We still have lots of snow on the ground and the kind of profusion you show is still a few weeks away. You must be having abnormally high temperatures to have blooms so well developed.

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    1. It's certainly not normal to have so many signs of spring already, a part of Wales hit the highest temperature ever recorded in February last week, it's quite disconcerting.

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  2. A lovely collection of photos, lovely to see so many signs of spring, though the strange weather is a little unsettling and seeing things I usually see march into April already appearing in February. We've not had any fog over here, just sunshine (until Thursday and today, which were both wet and cooler but still mild).

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    1. Thanks Louise, I agree about the weather!

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  3. Spring is in the air! Your crocus shot is soooo pretty, my pitiful little plot is shameful in comparison. And the nest building is underway...that's awesome. Glad you got the Greenfinch at the feeder. Have a great weekend.

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    1. Thanks Sondra, it certainly is here! Hope you've had a good weekend :)

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  4. Lovely photos. How very springlike all your sightings are. The weather has been very strange hasn't it?. It's wonderful to see greenfinch about again, we had a pair in the garden yesterday and on our walk heard a woodpecker and then saw it fly off deeper into the trees:)

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    1. It has, i've been torn between enjoying it and just feeling completely out of sorts with it! There seems to be a sudden increase of sightings of Greenfinch on my patch, which is definitely goods news. Great to hear a Woodpecker :)

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  5. A lovely set of images Pam - it is so good to start seeing and hearing signs that Spring is not far away. A great set of local sightings too and good news about the greenfinch - haven't seen one here for years.

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    1. Thanks Caroline. I've noticed a fair few Greenfinch around the patch over the past few weeks, i'm hoping it's a good sign.

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  6. What a lovely walk, have to say at the park dog walkers don't seem to mind sending their dog my way when I am trying to take a photo !!! We have Greenfinch at the park but not as many as we had when I first started recording, I can hear a odd one but hard to spot.
    Amanda xx

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    1. People don't seem to pay very much attention sometimes do they! Greenfinch are very hit and miss I think, they seem to have increased here recently but you're right they can be difficult to spot, usually high up in the trees and sometimes with flocks of Goldfinch! x

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