A Quick Trip Out

I was racking my brains this morning trying to think of somewhere I could go with lots of berries to try and take some Redwing/Fieldfare photos. In the end I remembered Hams Hall Industrial Park - scene of many a unsuccessful waxwing "hunt" last winter. When I got there most of the shrubs and trees had been stripped of berries - there were several Fieldfares still around but too far away for a photo.

I popped to have a look at the rookery at the nearby village of Lea Marston - I couldn't see much activity around the nests although there seemed to be more nests than in recent years.

A couple of photos of part of the rookery (I've included these as they were the only photos I took!! and also because there is something so evocative of a cold, dull and gloomy February day especially the way the only colours showing are black, grey and white!).





I had a quick look at the village church-yard located along a lane about half a mile from the village itself. Plenty of Blue and Great tits, Robins and Blackbirds but the highlight was a fox trotting across the church-yard. Unfortunately it had disappeared into the adjacent wood by the time I had got the camera out of the bag.

Back at home there are plenty of birds feeding. The Blackcap is still around feeding on apples and fat. 6 Lesser Redpolls were feeding on silver birch seeds and one visited the pond. I've refilled the nyger seed feeder, which hasn't been used for ages as the goldfinches just feast on the sunflower hearts, and placed it in one of the silver birches in the hope the Redpolls might find it. One of the Stock Doves was feeding today on the lawn and I saw a Wren foraging along a stone wall - glad to see it has survived the cold spell so far. Two Fieldfares passed through yesterday although they ignored the apples on the lawn!