Sunday, 16 March 2025

Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 16th March 2025

Date: 16th March 2025

Time: from 7 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy, light wind, 0°C to 5°C

My last 3 visits to the site have been in very cold temperatures. Winter is hanging on despite the appearance of the first Chiffchaffs and spring flowers.

During my visit this morning, I added another species to my site list for 2025 taking it to 35 speciesMistle Thrush (an unseen singing male heard for around 5 minutes from the top of Church Hill and located somewhere in the south west corner of the site).

I have heard singing male Chiffchaffs during my last 4 visits, commencing with the first of the year during my visit on 8th March 2025. This morning, I heard a singing male Chiffchaff in the northern section of the site and saw a singing male in the wooded area in the southern section of the site.

However, I am still waiting for my first record of Blackcap for the year, having already recorded this species at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve on 9th March 2025.

Other highlights during my visit were as follows:

Grey Heron: 1 surprisingly seen flying low over the wooded area in the southern section of the site

Chaffinch: 1 heard calling along the access track from Larkins Tyres, 1 seen flying over the northern section of the site and 2 seen flying over the top of Church Hill

Green Woodpecker: 2 seen flying over the northern section of the site and another heard calling loudly in the wooded area in the southern section of the site

Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1 heard “drumming” in the eastern section of the cemetery and 1 heard calling in the wooded area in the southern section of the site

With regard to mammals, I again saw a Red Fox very briefly and distantly in the paddock in the northern section of the site.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Robin
Wren
Dunnock
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Mistle Thrush
Blackbird
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Jay
Jackdaw
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Grey Heron
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull

Red Fox

Here are some photos from my visit ….
















Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff
















Photo: Woodpigeon

























Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets):

Birds = 35 (49)

Mammals = 3 (3)
Butterflies = 0 (17)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 0 (11)
Reptiles = 0 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)

Total species list for the site

Birds = 69

Mammals = 7
Butterflies = 25
Dragonflies and damselflies = 14
Reptiles = 1
Amphibians = 0

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