A Virtually Birdless Millennium Wood - Again!

I haven't had chance recently to go out on any birding trips (though the reports of Short-eared Owl sightings at Brandon Marsh and Middleton Lakes/Dosthill have not gone unnoticed!!) so, as I was passing, I paid a brief visit to Millennium Wood on Friday morning.

There were plenty of autumn colours and berries to be seen







but I had walked three quarters of the way round without seeing a single bird! The final part of the walk revealed quite a few magpies, wood pigeons and carrion crows (the usual trio of species) but nothing else.

I spent quite a while searching for birds in these mature oaks - hoping for a jay - but all I could see were yet more wood pigeons!



Its a pity there isn't a small pool in the reserve as that would no doubt bring in a few species but I will go back again as its a nice place to walk when I haven't got time to visit Brandon Marsh and surely the berries will attract birds at some time.




Back home in the garden - bird numbers at the feeders are slowly increasing - 6 goldfinches last week feeding and the great spotted woodpecker visits several times a day. Yesterday had our first greenfinch for ages and the grey squirrels which always return in autumn have re-appeared. A sparrowhawk shot over the fence yesterday like a missile but the feeders had emptied of birds a few seconds previously. A wren is still roosting in hanging basket but I haven't had any more sightings of the female blackcap.