Friday 29 March 2013

Amwell

Fed the birds this morning, breaking the ice on the bird bath and it felt quite nice in the sunshine, still a bit cold but much better than it has been, so I decided to get down to Amwell.
Felt very nice getting out of the car, and debated wether I ought to take a layer off. Glad I did not, as the wind at the watchpoint was vicious. Bill was present, so we had a chat. A few raptors came up in the sunshine-five Buzzards, a Kite and one or two Sparrowhawks and Kestrels. A Chiffchaff was calling from the reeds in front of us, as well as a Cetti's. Few waders present, a few Snipe and Lapwing, though I later heard a Redshank. Seems like the Oystercatchers have not settled down, and the presence of large numbers of Black Headed Gulls may be a factor.
Went down to Hollycross, encountering a female Bullfinch in Cherry Plum by the bridge and she was soon joined by a male. For a few moments a Chiffchaff started to sing but soon shut up as the sun went in. Nothing much else, i thought I heard a Treecreeper but could not pin it down.There are still a reasonable number of Siskins present and around ten Goldeneye remain, but it looks like most of the winter ducks are leaving-the last Wigeon seems to have gone and there are only one or two Teal left.



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