Date: 1st January 2023
Time: from 9:30 a.m.
Weather: dry, bright/cloudy, light/moderate wind, 10°C to 12°C
After very successful visits watching and photographing Red Foxes in frosty and snowy conditions on 10th December 2022, 13th December 2022 and 15th December 2022, this was my first visit to the site in 2023 and considerably warmer.
It proved to be a very successful visit with a number of notable sightings: 22 bird species, including 3 raptor species (Common Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk), 2 irregular finch species (Chaffinch and Greenfinch) and still large numbers of Redwings, plus all 3 of the most regular mammal species (Red Fox, Reeves' Muntjac and Grey Squirrel) …. an excellent start to the year!
As soon as I reached the start of the access track from Larkins Tyres, I immediately noticed a Red Fox at the far end of the track before it curves round in to the wooded area. I half hid myself as best as I could and watched the Red Fox slowly walk along the track towards me. It eventually approached within just a few feet. However, when it saw me, it did not panic and bolt but merely turned round and trotted off back down the track.
At this point, I also heard a calling Chaffinch but failed to locate it. Nonetheless, this was an excellent record on the first day of 2023 of a species that I only see or hear occasionally at the site.
As on my 3 previous visits, after walking down the track from Larkins Tyres, I walked through the trees to the watchpoint overlooking the rough grassy field bordered by scrub, hedges and trees, climbed over the fence and walked across the field and through a gap in the hedge to scan the area.
Unfortunately, unlike those 3 previous visits, I failed to spot any Red Foxes although I did have a brief sighting of a single Reeves’ Muntjac. There was also a very mobile flock of c.20 Redwings which were evidently still in the area following the period of cold weather. In addition, I saw a fly-over Greenfinch which, like the Chaffinch, was an excellent record of a species that I only see or hear occasionally at the site.
I spent approximately 1 hour at this location and then walked back across the field, stopping near the large oak tree to scatter some remains of a roast chicken, gravy, stale bread, apples and dog biscuits, before settling by the fence to wait for any Red Foxes to appear.
After about 15 minutes, a Red Fox emerged from the hedge beyond the oak tree and walked slowly out in to the field. I was able to watch and photograph it for a few minutes before it returned back to the hedge and disappeared. After a further 35 minutes, what I think was a different Red Fox briefly appeared at the far end of the field.
Photo: Red Fox
Whilst at this location, I had a distant view of a single Common Buzzard flying through in an easterly direction and being mobbed by Carrion Crows, an even more distant view of a Kestrel also flying through in an easterly direction but much closer views of 2 individual Sparrowhawks, the first being chased and mobbed by a Black-headed Gull.
Whilst I have previously recorded all 3 of these raptor species at the site, this was only my second record of Kestrel since the first sighting on 8th May 2020 and both Common Buzzard and Sparrowhawk are far from regular. Therefore to record all 3 species on the first day of the year was very unexpected.
At this location, I also heard a single calling Green Woodpecker plus 2 calling Great Spotted Woodpeckers although all of them were distant and I failed to see any of them.
On my way home, I again stopped along the track to Larkins Tyres to scan the rough grassy field and scrub and saw c.20 Redwings and 2 Pied Wagtails feeding on the ground at the far end plus a small group of c.10 House Sparrows in the bushes much closer.
In addition to the Red Foxes, I also saw 4 Grey Squirrels at various locations around the site.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Great Tit
Here are some other photos from my visit:
Photo: Jay
Photo: Jay
Photo: Magpie
Site totals for 2023 to date (2022 totals in brackets):
Total species list for the site:
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