 |
| Midlands Mini League, with friends Sam (@birdboysam) and Jack |
 |
| Under 25 Mini league, with friends Sam (@birdboysam) and Jack |
March has been a very eventful month on the patch, with highlights being Tufted Duck, Blackcap, Sand Martin, Swallow, Red Kite and a very unexpected Harris Hawk
Mute Swan : This year already has been the best EVER for Mute Swan on the patch, with 13 birds flying W at dusk on the 11th over the 'pond'
Greylag Goose: A resident bird on the patch in small numbers, the highest count this month was 4 birds seen at the 'pond' on the 11th
Mallard: A resident flock of between 10-30 birds at the pond, 15 birds were counted on the 'pond' on the 11th at dusk
Tufted Duck: A pair were seen on the 'pond' on the 16th, this is the first record of Tufted Duck on the patch, then probably the same pair on the 29th at the 'pond'
 |
| Tufted Ducks |
Red-legged Partridge: Resident but very scarce on the patch, 1 bird was heard calling then later flushed accidently on the 6th just outside the village
Pheasant: A resident species on the patch, with 3 birds seen on the 9th at the 'pond'
Grey Heron: 3 records this month of Grey Heron, only been one bird presumably the same bird each time feeding at the 'pond'.
Red Kite: 2 records this month, which is very unusual, the first record was a single bird being mobbed by 2 Carrion Crows on the 14th, and 2 birds flying E between Old Dalby Wood and the 'pond' on the 19th
Sparrowhawk: Been very elusive this month with only 2 records (that I've seen, as my dad had one in the garden) the sightings being a juvenile bird at Saxelbye Hall on the 15th and 23rd
Harris Hawk: One bird I never imagined to get on the patch, one bird flew south of the grain dyrer early on, on the 30th, this bird could be the bird last seen back in November at Cossington Meadows, this bird had no bells or jessie's to distinguish where the bird had come from.
 |
| Photos of the Harris Hawk being mobbed by local corvids on the 30th |
 | |
|
Moorhen: A resident species on the patch in small numbers, with 3 birds seen on the 9th at the 'pond'
Black-headed Gull: Passage bird through the patch throughout the year, with 100+ birds flying over on the 5th, presumably coming from a roost
Common Gull: Passage bird through the patch throughout the year, with 20+ birds seen flying amongst the Black -headed Gulls on the 5th
Lesser Black-Backed Gull: One record of 5 birds soaring high over the village on the 20th
Herring Gull: 3 birds feeding at the Stud on the 23rd
Stock Dove: A resident species in small flock numbers (1-20), with 10+ birds amongst a corvid flock in the paddocks near the stud on the 9th
 |
| Stock Dove from the 9th |
Collared Dove: A few pairs linger around the village, later on in the month, they started to pair up, with 4 pairs being the highest count on the 25th
Green Woodpecker: One bird has been heard 'yaffeling' near the stud, yet to be seen but heard on 4 occasions, then a female seen at Saxelbye Wood on the 31st
Great Spotted Woodpecker: 3 birds was the highest count 5th, with males heard most mornings drumming on their favorite trees
Kestrel: 5 records this month, at 2 separate breeding locations, with one pair already checking out nesting sites!
Magpie: 9 records this month, with 7 birds being the highest count in Saxelbye Hall on the 25th
Jay: First of the year with a bird heard then later seen at Saxelbye Hall on the 12th, this is one of only a few locations out of their breeding area
Jackdaw: A resident bird on the patch throughout the year with 200+ birds seen at their roost sites most night in the woods
Rook: A resident bird on the patch throughout the year with 300+ birds seen at their roost sites most night in the woods
Carrion Crow:A resident species on the patch, with 10+ birds seen at the stud through the month
Raven: 2 records this month, both single birds one record on the 15th and the other on 25th, probably the same bird
Goldcrest: 8 records this month, the highest count was 3 birds at Saxelbye Wood, there has been a definite influx of these birds around the patch
Blue Tit: A resident species on the patch, with 7 birds present in the garden on the 14th being the highest count
Great Tit: A resident species on the patch, with 4 birds present in the garden on the 25th being the highest count at one time
Coal Tit; A resident species on the patch, with 3 birds present at the grain dryer on the 12th
Skylark: A resident species on the patch, a massive influx in Skylark on the patch this month as birds are starting to pair up, the highest count being 14 birds on the 25th
Swallow: One bird was heard then seen flying N at the bottom of Saxelbye Park on the 25th, this is the earliest record on the patch and the 4th record for the county this year, then 2 birds present on the 31st in the village
 |
| Swallow seen on 25th just at the bottom of Saxelbye Park |
Long-tailed Tit: A resident species on the patch, with a flock 5 being the highest count, and many pairs seen carrying nesting material, yet to find the nests though
Chiffchaff: One bird was heard singing at Shoby on the 26th, this bird had a pollen 'horn' bigger than it's bill #rhinobird!!! With 5 birds present at Shoby at the end of the month heard singing
Blackcap: 1st record of the month was a Male bird in the garden on the 9th
 |
| Blackcap |
Nuthatch: 2 records this month, with 1 bird feeding in the garden on the 9th, and one heard calling in Saxelbye hall on the 25th
Treecreeper: 3 records this month with 3 birds at the Grain Dryer on the 6th being the highest count
 |
| Treecreeper |
Wren: A resident species on the patch with 4 birds chasing each other round the garden on the 1st
Starling: A resident flock of between 50-100 birds present feeding at the Stud throughout the month
Blackbird: A resident species on the patch with 7 birds feeding in the orchard on the 13th being the highest count
Fieldfare: A massive influx at the start of the month 300+ counted on the 5th, since then numbers have fallen to around 20+ moving through
Song Thrush: An influx of Song Thrush throughout this month with 12 birds present at Saxelbye Hall on the 19th
Redwing: A decrease throughout this month as these birds migrate to Scandinavia, with the highest count being 60+ at Shoby on the 20th
Mistle Thrush: 2 birds present on the 12th, then records of single birds present throughout the month
Robin: A resident species on the patch, with 6 birds present singing throughout the month within the village
Dunnock: A resident species with 7 birds present on the 12th in the garden
House Sparrow: A resident 70 birds present throughout the month in the village, plus 20 birds at Shoby present
Tree Sparrow: 5 birds present on the patch on the 30th, with 2 pairs established territories, this is the highest count of breeding pairs ever on the patch, hopefully this is a sign of the population increasing
Grey Wagtail: One record of a this species seen on the 20th flying North
Pied Wagtail: A definite increase on this species, with 27 birds present at a roost at the stud on the 27th
Meadow pipit: Another bird increasing as migration carries on, with 15+ birds moving through the patch on the 27th
Brambling: As expected numbers decreased due to migration, but 15 birds present on the 1st, with 3 birds present on the 31st
Chaffinch: Flocks of c30 birds seen along the fields near the grain dryer throughout the month
Bullfinch: 5 birds present at Shoby on the 29th, this was the highest count on the patch
Greenfinch: Good numbers of these birds around the patch with a flock of c10 seen near the 'pond' on the 12th
Linnet: Good numbers of this species seen across the patch with 5 birds present on the 30th, with single birds seen across the month
Goldfinch: 15 birds seen at Shoby towards the end of the month, setting up residency in the local hedgerows
Siskin: 2 records this month, with 2 birds seen flying North on the 14th, over the garden
Yellowhammer: 12 birds seen at the stud on the 30th, feeding on the seeds for the local horses
Reed Bunting: More birds seen this month with 4 males singing at Shoby on the 31st
 |
| All species new for the year |
 |
| Final score and result for the month |
No comments:
Post a Comment