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| Redwing |
Tuesday was a write-off as far as birding was concerned with rain all day. Unfortunately for me, the weather for Wednesday was forecast to be rather wet too. When I went to bed on Tuesday night, there appeared to be a bit of a window of opportunity from around dawn till around 1100 but when I woke up around 0500 that window had closed to just a couple of hours from around 0900 to 1100, so I went back to sleep. It appeared there was a good chance I wouldn't get much birding done on Wednesday either. However, it wasn't actually raining when I did get up and the sky looked slightly less threatening as the morning progressed. I decided that I wanted to do some birding even if it was just some close to home stuff, rather than feel like it was another day wasted. There was always a chance of a Sand Martin skimming low over Swannie Ponds, albeit a very slim one.
I headed out at 0930 for the walk to Swannie Ponds. Woodpigeon, Magpie, Herring Gull, Starling, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch and Robin kept my eyes and ears active as I headed for Clepington Road. Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Chaffinch and a Lesser Black Backed Gull provided more interest as I wandered on along Clepington Road. The ponds seemed much quieter overall than of late with no Black Headed Gulls or Common Gulls around. There were still a handful of Herring Gulls and a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls loitering but the lack of Black Headeds in particular was very noticeable given how prevalent they have been since last Autumn.
There was only a single Mute Swan visible on the top pond - the resident adult male, and just one of the youngsters still lingering on the lower. There did seem to be plenty of Tufted Ducks and Mallards - some already paired up while others loitered awaiting their chance. A pair of Moorhens had a brief disagreement before going their separate ways again while various Coots kept guard on their small area of the ponds. In the trees a Blue Tit called. I spotted a Grey Heron flying low over the former bus depot sheds in the direction of Baxter Park. Greenfinch and Blackbird were added as I left the ponds to walk the short distance down to Baxter Park myself.
There was a Goldcrest in one of the trees near the bowling green in the park but I couldn't see it as its high pitched call sounded from somewhere among the multitude of branches. A Collared Dove flew past before landing on one of the roofs in Wortley Place. A Redwing and a Song Thrush were perched in one of the trees by the steps down the side of Spring Grove and I was able to get photos of both without either bird appearing particularly concerned with me standing so close below them. Things were relatively quiet in the grove itself. Thankfully, 1 or 2 Redwings dropped in to bathe, half hidden by the rocks from where I was standing by the gate.
A Stock Dove flew over and a Wren sang from the bush that held the feeders. The Field Vole scrambled across the 'waterfall' and disappeared into the vegetation before I could react with the camera. On its return journey it was too quick for me again. A Chiffchaff showed just long enough for me to grab a few photos before I went to try to find a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker nearby. I managed to get a few photos of the male bird in the tree at the top of the steps before it flew off elsewhere. I could hear its distant drumming again a little later.
A Grey Squirrel scrambled up the trunk of a nearby tree when it spotted me, just before a Meadow Pipit was heard flying over. A second bird was seen a little later. I spotted a group of 5 Redwings on the grass to the south and using a tree trunk as 'cover' managed to get reasonably close, allowing me to get some more photos of the species before once again they are gone until late September/early October or so. A pair of Bullfinches dropped in for a bath, as did Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Chaffinch.
I had a chat with an elderly lady for a few minutes before the forecast rain appeared to start, signalling it was time to head for home. On the way back I added Pied Wagtail to the rather short list of 34 species I'd managed to see, or hear during the slightly more than 2 hours I'd been out birding. Once again I'd managed to get some fairly unusual photos (such as the bathing Bullfinches and Redwings) meaning it had been a a worthwhile exercise to get out and about again, despite the weather.
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Tufted Duck
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| Moorhen |
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Collared Dove
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| Redwing |
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| Redwing |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Blackbird |
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House Sparrow
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| Chaffinch |
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| Blackbird |
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| Chiffchaff |
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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| Wren |
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| Robin |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Redwing |
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| Redwing |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Robin |
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| Goldfinch |
Birds - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Field Vole, Grey Squirrel.
