Around the Patch

A New Year and another Patchwork Challenge. I was up and out for a walk before the rest of the family (and most of the town) were up on New Years Day. It was lovely and quiet, just the odd dog walker, even Morrisons was deserted, in fact i've never seen the car park so quiet! Very good for the birds though, the Gulls, Rooks and Crows had taken over, picking at dropped takeaways.

Since then i've been all over the patch, with my walk to work, several visits to the Woods and even managed to get to the rarely visited corner that is in the opposite direction to everything!

Black-headed Gull

Collared Dove

New Years Day

Magpie & Mistle Thrush

Redwing

Blackbird

Mistle Thrush

Pied Wagtail

Woodpigeon

Rook

The weekend of the 25th was the RSP Big Garden Birdwatch, which I take part in every year, I did my hour between 8.10 and 9.10am on Saturday morning and saw 11 species, not too bad.  There was also Coal and Long-tailed Tits later in the day. 

Blue Tit 2

Blackbird 1

Robin 1

Great Tit 2

House Sparrow 9

Goldfinch 8

Starling 8

Woodpigeon 2

Collared Dove 1

Feral Pigeon 1

Dunnock 2

Feral Pigeons

Long-tailed Tits

Snowdrops and Bluebells are just starting show in the garden, Snowdrops are in flower already elsewhere around town

The woods are full of birds and birdsong, at the moment it's around sunrise when I get there so the birds are busy, one morning I counted 3 singing Song Thrush!

Coal Tit

Dunnock

Woodpigeon

Woodpigeon

Great Tit

Starlings 

Dartmouth Park (the one I don't visit often!) it's overrun with Blackbirds, more than any other spot at the moment. I picked up my first Greenfinch of the year here with several at the tops of the trees with lots of Goldfinch. 

Another tree has come down

Blackbirds

This bush was in full flower, not wild but part of the gardens planted there

In both Dartmouth and Scatcherd Parks there is blossom on the trees, these particular ones always flower early in the year

To date i'm up to 29 species around the patch plus various other sightings - Rats in the woods, Wood Mice in our window feeder, Squirrels everywhere, regularly calling Foxes around home, there's even been a bat flying over the garden on milder days!

Out and About

This will likely be my last post before the holidays as life seems to have been overtaken by Christmas and crazy work busyness (not to mention the stinking cold that has struck, at the worst possible time as usual!!).

Even though the days are short at the moment i've managed to get in some garden watching and the birds and Squirrels are non stop all day long. We only get one or at the most two Squirrels but recently we've had four. We have an old hanging basket by the patio doors so have been putting nuts in there, it's been popular not just with the Squirrels but Coal Tits have been using it and sneaking in when the Squirrels aren't looking.

Not everyone's favourite but I love watching them

There is a good roost of Sparrows by the garden still and they spend the day by the bird bath and devouring sunflower hearts from the feeders.

There has been an increase in numbers of Goldfinch, Blue and Great Tits, they seem to be in the garden from dawn till dusk. We've had the odd Goldcrest, Wren and Dunnock too. Blackbird numbers have increased and they spend a long time picking at the lawn. A Sparrowhawk tried to grab one of the Blue Tits early one morning, it failed but gave some beautiful views as it sat on the fence for a minute.

Some of the Black-headed Gull flock that roost near the house

Down in the woods it's been a bit hit and miss with the birds, we've seen a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk down by the Pit Hill fields, lots of Woodpigeon, one morning had both Song and Mistle Thrush in the woods

There's been some beautiful foggy mornings

The resident rats

We took a walk in Dartmouth park one morning and noticed one of the trees had lost one of its main branches, it was full of Blackbirds.

There's a tree nearby that is full every year of berries and if you time it right it's full of birds - Blackbirds, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, it's lovely to watch.

The walk to work has also been full of birds, the Gulls that roost near the house spread out and most seems to head to Morrisons spending their time hanging about the lamposts along with Crows, Rooks and Magpies. In the park there's often a large charm of Goldfinch, up to 40 at times. I finally saw my first Redwing back in the park last week though none since. Two more days of commuting and that's it till the New Year!

A couple of the photos taken on my new phone from the walk to work, believe it or not without any filter!