Entering Cowcroft Wood last week there was a flock of birds high in the tree tops which made the wood sound quite spring like. The contrast this morning was quite striking with hardly anything audible.
For a little while there has been a flock of birds active on the recently ploughed field in the corner between Cowcroft and Ladywood. They are very nervy and I can't get close enough for a positive id with the lightweight bins that I carry when walking. Carting the scope up there is too much like pack drill but after two sessions I am quite happy that they are redwing.
The sound of a large flock of canada geese was quite unusual so far from water. They were grazing on stubble over near Great White End Park Farm.
At the edge of Ladywood I could hear a flock of long tailed tits but they stayed hidden by the leaves. I had a better view before the weekend when they were working along the hedgerow.
When I got down to Bottom Lane I did hear a skylark on the field.
High summer and early autumn is always a quiet time for birds in my garden. I no longer feed after my summer holiday as I have ended up throwing away far to much mouldy fat or seed. Normally I would wait until November before putting the feeders back out but a party of long tailed tits appeared in the front garden today so I think that it might be worth while trying a single fat bar for the moment. For the past couple of weeks I have seen a lot of roadside signs saying "beware of deer" in places where I wouldn't normally see them. Last weekend I decided that they might be justified when I encountered a herd of roe deer in the road between Ley Hill and Latimer. While muntjac are seen often enough the roes tend to be shy and this was only the third time that I have had a good look at some in all the years that I have lived here.
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