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Early March 2009

Tuesday, 10th March '09

No notes today, my back is giving me a few issues

Monday, 9th March '09

Trims Green:

• Red-Legged Partridge 2

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

• Mistle Thrush - 3 scrapping for the full half-hour before work!
• Fieldfare c.40 in trees on north side of car park at 1040 Hrs

Saturday, 7th March '09

Brent Geese and Peter

Woodpigeon, Grey Plover, Turnstone and Short-eared Owl

Weston-on-the-Naze:

Stort Valley Wild group outing... only three of us this time; Peter, Rick and myself.

Target species: Barn Owl hunting in usual spot.  Special thanks to Rawprints and H for the guided tour :-)

sitelist:

• Cormorant 11+
• Mute Swan 2
• Brent Goose 300+ (only around 40 at close quarters)
• Shelduck 20+
• Mallard - flypast only
• Shoveler 5
• [Red-brested Merganser - I thought I may have seen a few flying low/fast along the coast, but we were far back from an obscured shoreline and I only saw them for a second.... so not counted as i'm not sure :-(]
• Kestrel - at least 2 hunting the barn owl area.... seen a few times.
• Pheasant 2 - Males
• Oystercatcher 15+
• Ringed Plover 6+
• Grey Plover 1 (still there on return leg)
• Sanderling 20+
• Dunlin 40+
• Curlew c.10
• Redshank c.50
• Turnstone 30+
• Black-headed Gull c.150 around the sewage treatment
• Common Gull - only a handful
• Lesser Black-backed Gull c.10
• Great Black-backed Gull 15+
• Herring Gull 50+
• Stockdove 2 - passed over our heads a couple of hundred yards before we got out of the car
• Woodpigeon 100+ coming in to roost on the sea side of the 'Barn Owl Bowl'
• Collared Dove
• SHORT-EARED OWL - Having only met our local guide a minute or so before we were shocked to find that we were already on prime ground.  There were people out walking (some with dogs) and this bird seemed oblivious to them all.  There was a large tent with tall ariels that had recently appeared which we though may put the Owls off, but this bird seed happy flying close to them using the ariels as an edge-of-area marker, and flying around it to begin the hunt again.  Easily our highlight of the day and I could still've hit the carpark with a 3 wood :-) No Barnie's today but I don't mind... this is only my second SEO!
• Green Woodpecker 1 - calling from beside houses (heard from car park) seemed a little out of place
• Skylark - a couple singing
• Meadow Pipit 7 (+) all ones and twos
• Pied Wagtail - only a single summery looking male beside the Mute Swans
• Wren - a few singers
• Dunnock
• Robin
• Blackbird
• Long-tailed Tit 3
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Jay 3 - South over 'Barnie Bowl'
• Magpie - at least 10 in to roost with Woodpigeon
• Starling
• Chaffinch - 2 singers
• Greenfinch 10+
• Linnet 4 (+) - a lone bird '(+)' had a suspiciously nasal sound to its call which reminded me of our Twite at Tollesbury.  Given that i only heard one single call as bird flew up and no plumage features against the sun i'll leave it as prob linnet.

42 species.

2 more species, noted earlier, a short distance away at the 'private land' stop were:

• Black-tailed Godwit - by the time I started on my notes (PH and RS were just about to get stuck in the mud) I'd forgotten if there were 4 or 5 birds seen
• Teal 2 - Male and Female

only bird of note en route:

• Red-legged Partridge

Among a pocketfull of finds were:

• one of the hundreds of oystershells along this stretch
• Fossilized wood - The coast, here, is eroding at an astonishing rate... if you stand below the cliff for long enough you could still be killed by a dinosaur :-) 

Sanderling and Rick

Brent Geese, Dunlin and Ringed Plover

Dunlin and Short-eared Owl  (again)

Friday, 6th March '09 

House Sparrow - almost light enough to take early morning pictures today. 

These were all taken at Hayter, before I start work at 0730 Hrs!

Spellbrook Lock:

• Kestrel 2 - very vocal pair

Trims Green:

• Yellowhammer + Chaffinch - Mixed flock numbering around 70 birds

Thursday, 5th March '09:

Trims Green:

• Fieldfare c.120 - feeding between Mathams Wood and Road
• Red-legged Partridge 1 - South Airfield beside double-layby
• Yellowhammer 2 (or 3) Pairs along Trims Green South Road

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

Coal Tit - usual early morning visit to work feeders.

This photo was taken before 0730 Hrs!!!

Wednesday, 4th March '09:

Colt's-foot - taken at Epping Forest last weekend

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

• Cormorant 2 - over East at 0730 Hrs

Tuesday, 3rd March '09:

Trims Green:

• GREY PARTRIDGE 2 - as yesterday

Monday, 2nd March '09:

Trims Green:

• Lesser Black-backed Gull 3 - on fields
• GREY PARTRIDGE 2 - on the North-East edge of Tye Green in the 'triangle'
• Hare 1 - South Airfield
• Pheasants - everywhere

Hayter, Spellbrook (west);

• Coal Tit 2 - One making the most of feeders and singing occasionally from last years tree
• Kestrel 1 - Female

Canteen Roost

• Greenfinch c,20 + Starling

Bikeshed Roost

• Golfinch c.30 - Both a remarkable drop

Sunday, 1st March '09:

Stortford Park Farm:

EAST

• Fieldfare 1
• Mistle Thrush 3
• Green Woodpecker 3

WEST

• Meadow Pipit 3 - over North
• Yellowhammer 3 - calling