Bit of Deja Vu going on at the moment as once again I take Margie to work, then head out local ,this time north of the village, the footpath behind Kemps leading across the field is muddy as! In the morning gloom I struggle to find any birds this is mainly because there doesn't appear to be any in the strangely silent hedges and also I'm concentrating on staying on my feet and not drowning in the very deep puddles, the only birds I saw between Kemps and the furthest hedge were a couple of Magpies ,a single Redwing and a couple of Fieldfares😲 However at least the Redwing posed for a few seconds!!
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| Redwing in the gloom, a tribute to my Camera really this came out as it was so gloomy I wasn't actually sure what it was in real time!! |
So things were pretty desperate all my hopes were resting on the Dung Heap, sad when all your dreams rest on a large pile of crap!! this must be what it's like to support Man U (you can insert the team of your choice here really. I chose Man U cos I'm a Leeds fan and we've finally got a decent team so I'm singing whilst we winningish in the full knowledge that give it a couple of Months/Years we will be back in the doldrums, when you have been supporting them for 50 years you take your chances when you can , c'mon the Mighty Whites!! MOT)😁😁😁😁😲😲😲😲😲 I considered putting Ipswich Town as Margie supports them but in their current situation would have felt like bullying😁😁
Anyway back to the Dung Heap, this was steaming away nicely and there were a few birds knocking around a couple of Meadow Pipits flying about, Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Small flock of 4 Goldfinch, a Song Thrush there were at least 6 Robins present unusual because they are generally very territorial but I suppose with the cold they will tolerate each other to enjoy the resources provided by the Dung, though there were a couple of Scraps whilst I was there.
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| Fox |
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| Fox |
With frostbite setting in I decided to abandon the Dung and headed down the footpath opposite, In the large Trees lining this path even more Deja Vu another flock of Long-tailed Tits and just like yesterday and the day before my pictures of them are crap!! At least it's showing that at least some birds are doing ok with a minimum of 3 different flocks of LTT in the Hurst area,I think they are different flocks as firstly the distances involved would make it being the same flock unlikely and the make up of the flocks are different with Tuesdays being mainly LTTs and Goldcrests, yesterdays being a about 50-50 LTTs and other Tit species and todays being mainly LTTs with a couple of Blue Tits and a Great Tit although I thought I heard a Marsh Tit calling briefly as well but I couldn't locate it with the bins or camera.(may have been wishful thinking!) On all three days, in all three flocks, the buggers managed to pretty much avoid being photographed to any decent standard by me!!!
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| LTT |
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| LTT |
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| LTT |
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| LTT |
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| Blue Tit |
I was also able, from this point able to continue my series of pictures of Hurstpierpoint Church from different angles you will be thrilled to know 😁
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| Hurstpierpoint Church |
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| Hurstpierpoint Church |
The path headed over the A23, on a bridge you understand, I wasn't playing chicken with the surprisingly high volume of traffic!!Just before I got there a Pied Wagtail flew over my head and landed in the field in front of me, strutted about for 10 seconds then flew off!! Random!!
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| Random Pied Wag! |
The other side of the bridge there was a nice tree with Catkins which is the sort of thing Margie likes to take pics of so in her absence I did me best, the path looped around and went down the side of a small wood, I heard quite a few birds in here GSW, Nuthatch various Tits etc but saw little accept a Song Thrush and a couple of Great Tits so abandoned the route and headed back towards the Dung Heap!!In a further enhancement of the Deja Vu theme at this point I spotted a Buzzard in a distant tree, just like the last 2 trips oooohhh spooky also took a picture of a Spooky tree as well!!!
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| Catkins |
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| Catkins |
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| Great Tit |
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| Spooky Tree |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Sun trying to break through |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
I resumed my vigil at the Dung Heap ,can't believe Margie missed this😂😂!! She loves Dung Heaps although think sewage farms are her favourite birding location!!😲 I managed to get a few pictures of a few of the species I missed before but nothing different appeared accept a lone Fieldfare sat in the grass which I initially thought was ill but it eventually flew off seemingly ok.
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| Fieldfare |
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| Robin |
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| Meadow Pipit showing long hind-claw |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Dunnock |
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| Blackbird |
So that was about that, headed home via Langton Lane rather than the mudbath across the fields, heard a Bullfinch and had brief views of the disappearing White Rump as it plunged into the hedge never to be seen again. This was the only Finch species I saw today except for 4 Goldfinches, no Chaffinch, Linnet, Greenfinch let alone a Brambling. didn't see any of the farmland species you might expect Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting ,Corn Bunting or Skylark, not hard to see why the Hedges slashed down to barely waist high, no field margins left not a stubble field to be seen when I bump into people on my walks people often say how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful area well it may look pretty but the wildlife is ridiculously hard pressed everything tidy no rough areas left for wildlife, let's hope that one good side of Brexit be that farming subsidies are given to the farmers out there that want to help nature, they do exist, rather than just dished out to the industrial ones who seem intent on destroying it with flail and spray. Remember we can do our bit BUY ORGANIC food on average there is 50% more wildlife on organic farms so spend the money, pay the true cost for our food and support those farmers!!
Anyway sermon over HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone including Man U fans and especially to both my readers and all 5 of my followers!!!
Ps
On arrival home I had another visitor to the Garden no not the Sparrowhawk a very nice Song Thrush which took advantage of the numerous berries on our Ivy a much maligned plant that was covered in insects in the summer and whose berries have been providing food for a number of Woodies,several Blackbirds and now a Song Thrush as well as shelter for a host of small birds, indeed today with the Starlings, Sparrows, Blue Tits, Robin, Dunnock, Great Tits and Collared Doves I've nearly seen more birds sat here on the sofa in half an hour than I did in my 2 and a half mile trek around the wastelands of Hurst coutryside!! Pics of the Thrush and Starling below taken from the sofa through Glass which suggests I should spend less time birding and more time cleaning the windows!! 😂😂😀 Probably don't mention that to Margie
And the bloody suns out now as well!!
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| Garden Song Thrush with Berries (through Glass) |
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| Starling in the sun (through Glass) |
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