Who would have thought...
This time last year I was looking forward to the start of the new decade. The vague plan for the year was to go on 2 overseas birding trips and a family holiday to Portugal, the only anticipated threat to these plans was the uncertainty of how intense the work I was doing would become. Throw in a global pandemic and the year has ended with no overseas trips and the work finishing in November but thankfully all the family remain well. With no immediate end in sight to what the Covid steamroller continues to throw at us, the year ahead will have to start with very little forward planning and being grateful for what small steps can be taken and continue to celebrate the local wildlife.
Since Xmas the weather has remained cold, with icy starts to the day remaining cold with little wind and mostly overcast but no snow. A couple of local walks, to the Furnace pond on the 26th, where highlights were a male Goshawk, a Kingfisher on the Furnace Pond and a flock of c20 Lesser Redpoll. on the 29th I decided to have a look at a couple of the local mill ponds, firstly at Lurgashall, potentially the largest pond in the area, but surprised to find it almost fully drained with just a sea of exposed mud, the sluice gate was open, so I guess it must have been drained for a purpose, there were 2 Mute Swans, several Coot and Moorhen looking slightly concerned. At Cook's Pond 2 Tufted Duck were local rarities and I walked around the fields at Trotton, generally very little was visible with 2 Stonechat and c20 Meadow Pipits being the highlight. Yesterday I walked to Lower House Farm, the Linnet flock was still dropping into the Kale crop, maybe c150 birds , with them several Chaffinch and at least 4 Brambling, 10 Meadow Pipit and 4 Mistle Thrush and 2 Firecrest on the return walk.
Wishing everyone optimism and hope for 2021.
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| Song Thrush |
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| Brambling |
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| Brambling |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Redwing and Grey Squirrel in the leaf litter |
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| Some of the Linnet flock |
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| Mute Swan, wondering where the water has gone. |
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