News that there were Hawfinches back at Fairmile, decided my destination today. I have had mixed results there in the past and today was similar a grey, drizzly morning, 17000 steps walked most of it seemingly uphill!!😱 Did see some Hawfinches, luckily got lost on the way back to the car and had a lone bird sitting in a tree, it was joined by four more, the only other highlight was a 10 minute burst of Firecrest frenzy with up to 4 birds buzzing around me, typically halfway through this a Hawfinch landed in the tree above my head!! Few other bits seen, a flock of 7 Yellowhammers sat in a tree, a few Goldfinches flying about, couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, some Redwings, a Buzzard, a group of Ravens flew over, heard a Marsh Tit and a couple of Nuthatches, but most stuff was flighty and hard to get any sort of quality pics in the misty cloud!😢 Done me best though!
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| Don't think the Autumnal colours have been all that good this year |
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| Buzzard |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Firecrest, typically difficult chasing each other around |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Hawfinch, typically landed as I was focusing on the Firecrests |
Do love a Firecrest!! As said above got lost on the way back to the car which meant I walked into a Hawfinch sat in a tree. I'd seen a couple of distant flocks of 3 or 4 but this one was serenely sat eating something, shame the sun didn't come out!
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| Some striking Fungi |
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| Hawfinch |
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| Redwing |
Difficult day, a lot of miles walked for not much reward, was probably the quietest I've seen it up there to be honest, except for the hundreds of Pheasants that seem to delight in flushing up from under my feet, nearly had several heart attacks. Not quite as scary though as having to walk back down the main road as I came out on the wrong footpath about a half a mile from the layby, the cars go past bloody quick and there is no verge😱😱, ended up buried in the hedge on a couple of occasions before making it back safely!!
