Fowlmere

Cold, damp, gloomy drizzle during a lunchtime visit to Fowlmere. About thirty Siskins and four Redpolls seen.

Local slog

A few hours spent in the afternoon at local sites Barton (to see if Shrike still present), Shepreth L-moor, and Fowlmere. Not a lot for my troubles: Fieldfare x 50+ with a few Redwings and Starlings in the flock, and a Grey Partridge (Barton); Reed Bunting (Shepreth, quite rare here for some reason); Teal x 8 (Fowlmere).

Mallard at Last!

A pair of Mallards flew over the garden. A long awaited Garden tick! And like a few days ago, just happened to briefly walk outside (raining again.)

3+ hours slogging around until dusk after the rain stopped. All for flight views of nine Teal and a Buzzard! Another Buzzard was heard and there were two Tawny Owls calling at dusk, one of which did admittedly perch very nicely in the open.

Mute Swan at Last!

One over the front garden at last.

A very quick walk around just to get some fresh air (raining all day) at dusk. Just three Teal (two male) seen.

Great Grey Shrike

A very grey, overcast day, but unlike yesterday, dry. Started mid-morning at Fowlmere. A hard slog. A Buzzard heard, and a single Redpoll seen amongst about forty Siskins. Also, the first Little Grebe of the year was heard.

Mid afternoon I went back to Barton with both boys, my brother, and my farther to see the Great Grey Shrike. Good views again, and Tom managed a photo. Also about fifty Starlings in Foxton at dusk.

Great Grey Shrike

Got the Great Grey Shrike at Barton. Forth time lucky. Got a very poor quality photo through my phone. Also a Barn Owl there.

Fowlmere afterwards at dusk very quiet; just the Tawny Owl calling again and three Teal from the mere hide.

Firecrest and Long-tailed Tit

A Firecrest was heard at Fowlmere near to dusk. Unfortunately it couldn’t be seen and after several minutes of calling went silent as it presumably went to roost. A Tawny Owl was also heard calling.
The Long-tailed Tit was again pecking at the window. I got some nice video and Tom took some excellent pictures. We’ve now put the blind down on the main window it pecks at in order to stop it from becoming exhausted; it then moves to another window, but does not seem quite so bothered.
I got some video of it on my phone...

…and Tom took an excellent series of photographs, much better than my attempts a couple of days before…

Grey Partridges

Two Grey Partridges in Foxton, from the train on the way home from Cambridge. Not a lot at Fowlmere.

Long-tailed Tit to Slaty-backed Gull

 

Working at home, with both Michelle there, and Sam off sick. A Long-tailed Tit caught our attention as it continually pecked at our windows. It would happily fed (with a flock of five birds plus other Tits) and then move away from the flock towards the window. It repeated this behaviour for about fifteen minutes.

Sam also recorded a video of it on his iPod (not that this is it, the iPod doesn’t actually load 35mm film, but it looks nice!)

As soon as it finished I made the dash to London to where the Slaty-backed Gull was back at Rainham. Touch and go as to whether I would make it, and initially I thought I’d missed it by a few minutes when I arrived about 4:15pm. Fortunately it was relocated and I managed to watch it for half an hour before it flew west down the Thames past the Dartford Bridge.

I pretty much saw it as the image below (by Andy Lawson, pinched from Surfbirds.) The colour in this photograph pretty much reflects the colour in the field to my eyes (unlike some photographs which seem to show it looking paler.) There may also have been a Yellow-legged Gull present (possibly even the bird in the photograph) but I couldn’t determine leg colour properly from the range.

Cambridge

A Buzzard past the office window was as exciting as it got today.

Fowlmere

Very quick lunchtime walk in the sun. Not a lot. 47 Greylag Geese and nice views of a Stoat.

Shepreth L-moor and Garden

A single Buzzard calling low over Shepreth L-moor on a damp, grey, day. Lots of activity in the garden including a Coal Tit on the feeders for the first time this year.

Fowlmere

A midday walk with Tom in the sun. Three Buzzards and a distant flock of about fifty Lapwings.

Fowlmere

Very spring like during an afternoon visit. Just a Buzzard, two Grey Partridges, and two Apache helicopters.

Three Shrikes and still out

Fowlmere in the morning. Quiet. A single Buzzard and eleven Grey Partridges.

Tried for the Great Grey Shrike later in the evening. Cycled with Tom and Marcus. Most exciting part was a puncture on the way there. Forgot (for the first ever time) the repair kit and had to call Michelle. A Buzzard, two Grey Partridges, and a Stoat on the return journey at dusk.

Fowlmere

Little to see in a quick circuit. A few birds singing in the spring-like sun though, including a Skylark.

Hobson’s Brook, Cambridge

Went looking for a Firecrest in Cambridge near to the Botanic Gardens. No luck, but a Little Egret seen in the allotments.