Date: 2nd December 2021
Time: from 8:45 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, moderate wind, 1°C to 2°C
It was a very similar morning to my last visit on 25th November 2021 .... but even colder with a wind chill making it feel like -3°C according to the Met Office website.
The main reason for my visit this morning was to photograph Red Foxes so I did not walk around the complete site. However, I still had some very notable bird sightings (see below).
Having accessed the site via the track from Larkins Tyres, I spent around an hour watching the field, scrub, hedges and trees at the north of the site, an area that has proved to be the most reliable for Red Fox sightings in recent months.
On arriving at my usual watchpoint, I climbed over the fence and walked a short distance to the oak tree and scattered various bits from a chicken carcass plus some fatty gravy. I hoped that my offering would attract the keen sense of smell that Red Foxes have.
Clearly, olfactory alert systems were working well this morning since I only had to wait for 10 minutes for the first Red Fox (a dog) to appear from the hedge close to the oak tree. It was clearly aware of the food that I had left but for some reason it seemed very nervous. I think it did take some of the food but after a few minutes it walked off to the left.
Just a few minutes later, another Red Fox (a vixen) appeared from the hedge away to the right and slowly walked across the field to the oak tree. It also seemed to be rather nervous and didn’t stay long before it returned from where it had come.
However, another Red Fox (a dog) appeared from the right shortly afterwards and it also slowly walked across the field to the oak tree. This animal stayed rather longer than the others before it too returned from where it had come.
I managed to get many photos of all 3 animals which I have posted separately here.
Whilst watching the Red Foxes, I saw a female Sparrowhawk being hotly pursued and mobbed by a Herring Gull (the former calling loudly either in annoyance or panic), my first confirmed Redwings of the winter (at least 3 flying in to the hedge at the far side of the field) and 2 fly-over Green Woodpeckers.
As I walked back along the track towards Larkins Tyres on my way back home, I saw a Grey Squirrel running along the top of the boundary fence.
Also, along this track at the far end near Larkins Tyres, I saw several passerines feeding on the ground. A quick look through my binoculars revealed 3 Chaffinches (2 males and a female) although I think there may have been more since I did see several small birds fly away from the same area. This was a surprising and particularly welcome sighting since this is a species that I rarely see at the site. This was my first record of Chaffinch since my records on 26th February 2021 (singing male heard only), 4th February 2021 (singing male heard and seen), 21st January 2021 (3 females) and 9th January 2021. This year has certainly proved to be a good one.
In this same area, there were several Turdidae feeding in the leaf litter underneath the trees but all took flight as I approached. As they scattered, I managed to identify at least 5 Blackbirds and a single Song Thrush but there were almost certainly Redwings present since I heard their distinctive call.
Finally, from Larkins Tyres, I saw a Black-headed Gull flying over. This is another species that I rarely see at the site (Herring Gulls can regularly be seen flying over in varying numbers all year round plus occasionally Lesser Black-backed Gulls) and therefore another surprising and welcome sighting and my first record since 18th April 2021.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
I did not take any photos other than my Red Fox photos which appear here.
Site totals to date (2021 totals in brackets):
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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