COUNTING CRESTS

More rain on Friday 28th but at least it stayed dry at the end of the day for a walk round the park. The grazing fields were supporting the same variety of birds as yesterday although fewer waders.

I walked along the path pictured above, hoping to track down the firecrest again from yesterday. Rather unexpectedly 3 brambling flew out of a tree calling, as they flew high eastwards. These are the first brambling of the winter at the park, presumably birds passing through on their journey back to Scandinavia.

The high pitched call of the firecrest was heard from nearby blackthorn bushes that were in flower. Without lifting the binoculars, the little bird could be seen close-by. It slowly worked its way along the bushes calling every so often. Whilst pointing out the bird to some friends, we watched a green woodpecker feeding on the ground that had to take evasive action as a rabbit ran straight towards it, apparently chasing it away.

Having stopped briefly to check the wildfowl at the pond, I carried on walking and heard a firecrest song again, coming from the area where the bird had been seen yesterday. The bird was seen at close quarters before the light started to fade. It is quite likely that there were two firecrests in different locations on the walk, as the first one was feeding about 100 metres away.