Monday 26 October 2015

Winter mixed Tit flocks

I’m still keeping my eyes and ears peeled for a Yellow-browed Warbler or Firecrest at the Brickworks. No luck today but I did come across an impressive mixed Tit flock containing the following:

9+ Goldrests
11+ Long-tailed Tits
3 Blue Tits
2 Great Tits
4 Chaffinch

Around the rest of the site, I encountered another small flock of Long-tailed Tits and further Tit and Finch flocks. Total minimum counts for the morning were:

9+ Goldrests
15+ Long-tailed Tits
6+ Blue Tits
5+ Great Tits
8+ Chaffinch
8+ Bullfinch
20+ Goldfinch
1 Skylark (flyover)
1 Nuthatch
6+ Robins
4+ Dunnocks
8+ Blackbird
15+ Redwing
1 Jay
2 Green Woodpecker
8 Magpie
1 Kestrel
1 Red Kite
+ Woodpigeons & Carrion Crows

It was unusual not to see one of the 3 resident Buzzards riding the thermals with the Red Kite. Also, after what feels like weeks of Siskin passage, with single birds flying over during recent visits, I didn't hear one this morning. A good sized Redwing flock (50+) arrived last week (20/10/2015) and there are likely more around than the 15 or so seen/heard.

P.S. The Common Toadflax is still flowering and still a very cheery sight.

Monday 5 October 2015

Autumn blooms!

It may well be a common plant of “waste grounds, grasslands, roadside verges and hedgerows”, but it’s one of the few that produces cheerful, sunny blooms right through to the end of November. As many flowers are finishing and the leaves are turning and falling from the trees, Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) bursts into life. There are a good number of plants in the scrub ground east of Baker’s Wood. If you’re in need of autumn and even winter cheer, head on over for a closer look.