The Pond
Places like Minsmere will always have birds, but the barometer of how well the countryside is doing is through areas like my local patch, places not managed for birds. This is mainly an area of arable and pasture fields, with a few hedges, that just happens to be right by my house, and I visit several times a week.
September brought in CHIFFCHAFFS, with SWALLOWS over the cow fields. Two LITTLE GREBES were present on the reservoir on the 13th, only my second record for the area. There was an influx of GEESE to the pond, that stayed for a couple of weeks. There were flocks of FINCHES, mainly GOLDFINCHES, but with smaller numbers of LINNETS, GREENFINCHES and YELLOWHAMMERS.
At 8:30 everyday the farmer would come down to feed the cows.
October was fairly quiet with more GOLDFINCH flocks. JAYS were common, mainly in singles. Several SKYLARKS had been fooled by the warm October sun into thinking it was spring and had started singing. Lark Field (imaginatively named by me because of its breeding and wintering LARK population) lived up to its name with seven birds present.
Late October brought in more BLACKBIRDS, but winter THRUSHES were few and far between. Fifty MALLARDS turned up on the pond, but left after a couple of weeks.
So nothing exciting, as like most places in the countryside. To me this is an area to ease my mind an accessible area of country, away from the trappings of modern life.
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