Blustery birds

Hello

The first part of today was spent at Ditchford GP which was initially wet and blustery, and then it became sunny and blustery!

Two Egyptian Geese were present west of Ditchford Lane and at least one Peregrine was coasting around on the strong breeze.  Other bird sightings were modest but included 4-5 Little Egrets, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Grey Wagtails and 4 Kingfishers.  Insects remained busy in the mild conditions with still reasonable numbers of Migrant Hawker and Common Darter whizzing about and several species of butterfly too.

A Brambling was seen at Hanging Houghton first thing this morning and a visit to Ravensthorpe Res this afternoon yielded a first winter Mediterranean Gull, a Green Sandpiper and a Kingfisher.

A late afternoon wander around Blueberry Farm, Maidwell provided a brief view of the adult male Hen Harrier again, with a 'ringtail' Hen Harrier being seen twice by another birder before this.  As the light began to diminish, 2-3 Barn Owls emerged to hunt and two Ring Ouzels flew in to roost in a field hedge near to the southern end of the complex.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil McMahon