Saturday, October 12, 2013

Catch up

Last weekend the volunteers were in on Sunday and we had a great turn out once again. The task was coppicing in two of the plantations by the overflow car park and we managed to clear most of one and got a good start on the second. We usually look forward to the bonfire through the autumn and winter but the unseasonably warm conditions meant most of us kept our distance as much as we could!

It remained quiet on the bird front until this week when the Redwings arrived. DK reported 1318 (roughly) west over Priory on Thursday morning and a further 138 on Friday morning. This was a tiny proportion of the birds on the move in the county, Steve Blain had ~33000 through on Thursday and ~3500 through on Friday at the Pinnacle near Sandy!

This morning we were fortunate to avoid the worst of the rain which passed through early on but it was all quiet on the bird front. We probably managed double figures of Redwings. There was a lot of calling but few were seen. I think most were still at roost in the trees and bushes. There were 3 Wigeons and a couple of Shoveller on the main lake first thing. Just high teens of Gadwalls and handful of Teals on Fingers.

Other than that a quiet morning with the usual suspects.