Date: 24th January 2021
Time: from 8 a.m.
Weather: dry, cloudy, light wind, -2°C
to -1°C
As I left home, I heard a calling Great
Spotted Woodpecker but failed to see it.
It was very cold this morning which
at least served to freeze the usually very wet and muddy track from Larkins
Tyres.
This morning’s visit was a strange
one. It was generally very quiet with a relatively short species list and very
few birds singing or calling. However, there were some noticeable highlights.
With regard to birds, the
highlight was 7 fly-over calling Greylag Geese, this species being a
further addition to my year site list. It is also a species that I have rarely
seen in the past.
As on recent visits, the scrubland and hedges viewed
from the Larkins Tyres access track produced c.10 Redwings.
After seeing my first Red Foxes
of the year on my last visit, I again saw the animal with the injured right
rear leg. After following the track from Larkins Tyres to the wooded clearing,
I then took the short track to the edge of the woodland to the fence
overlooking the field and scrub at the northern edge of the site. Very quickly,
I spotted a Red Fox emerge from the right hand side and slowly walk over
to a central hedge. Having reached the central hedge, it settled down, curled
up and evidently went to sleep. It was still there when I checked again towards
the end of my visit.
As I was walking slowly back up the grassy track from St. Nicholas Lane towards St. Nicholas Church, a Reeves’ Muntjac bolted out of cover right in front of me and quickly disappeared in to the hedge and scrub opposite. This extremely quick sighting was my first of the year. I am not sure who was the most surprised and shocked!
Shortly afterwards, I saw my only Grey
Squirrel of my visit. It was a very distinctive animal since over half its
tail was missing! Clearly it had had a close encounter with a predator but escaped.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows
(heard only records in italics):
Great Tit
Robin
Blackbird
House Sparrow
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Herring Gull
Grey Squirrel
Site totals to date
(2021 totals in brackets):
Mammals = 6 (3)
Butterflies = 21 (0)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7 (0)
Reptiles = 1 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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