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Buzzards

I have commented previously on how buzzards are becoming more common. It hasn't been numbers recently but just unexpected sightings. Last week I was on the Cotswolds and saw two, one between Enstone and Chipping Norton over the A44 and one east of Northleach over the A40. Kites didn't dissapoint me either as I saw one low over the field behind the wonderfully named Ramping Cat House just outside Burford. The big suprise was this week when I saw another buzzard over the M11 at Debden which is only the third that I have definitely seen in Essex.

At home the goldfinches seem to have established themselves as residents and chaffinches have just started visiting again while starlings are also reappearing although only in ones and twos at the moment. On the other hand the long tailed tits seem to have moved on although I did see a small party along White Hill when walking in to Chesham this morning.

The nature notes in The Times today referred to wood pigeons as being "almost completely vegetarian". The writer clearly hasn't seen the photo that I took in 2013 of one which was gorging itself on the fat feeder.

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