A trip to Fishers Green yesterday was uneventful. According to the species list the bitterns are back but seem to prefer the new reedbeds away from the bittern hide.
I walked around Seventy Acres and Holyfield lakes and the one remarkable thing was the lack of pochard. I only saw one or two individuals which on previous experience is most unusual for this time of year. I actualy saw more wigeon and gadwall both of which I would normally regard as being less common than pochard.
I did go looking for goosander which I have seen on Holyfield in previous years but without any luck.
At least one brood of starlings have been regular visitors to the feeder and today the fledglings got the hang of taking the food for themselves. Other broods must be less developed as adults were still taking away quantities of fat. The tits aren't so common at the moment, I don't know if this is because they have dispersed, if wild food is available or if pressure from the starlings has driven them off. Single blue tits are dropping in fairly regularly and a coal tit took fat away as well. The woodpecker seems to have become a regular visitor and still has a brood to feed. He definitely comes before the starlings in the pecking order and keeps them off the feeder until he has finished. The new feeder with perching rings is popular with the chaffinches and the goldfinches, the latter suddenly seem to prefer the high energy mix to the nyjer seed. With all this demand for feeding young ones the fat is going down very rapidly and I am putting larger quantities out on the ground t...
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