SNOW-BIRDS

A colourful male brambling was spotted and photographed by my wife Nolly, as it joined other finches feeding in our Firs Chase snow-covered garden on Friday 2nd.

The little feeding station in the front garden was being well used when the snow was on the ground, here a song thrush joining the brambling in looking for seed scraps falling from the feeders.

The male brambling with its bright orange shoulders and streaked nape stood out from the chaffinches. The last brambling at the garden feeders was three months ago in early December.

Fieldfares have been forced from the fields into gardens and this one was photographed through his lounge window by Andy Field on Thursday 1st. Four other fieldfares arrived in his garden the next day but didn't stay. A blackcap was an unexpected visitor to his High Street North garden on Thursday.
Four fieldfares were also reported by Adrian Amos in his East Road garden on Wednesday 28th along with four Mediterranean gulls with lots of other gulls and a song thrush.

This is another fieldfare photographed by Andy Field during his walk to the Strood seawall on Tuesday 27th. A merlin was later seen sitting on a post on Ray Island.

The snow had everywhere covered on Tuesday 27th with this curlew trying to find food near the park pond with its long curved bill.

The bottom of the pond field is wetter and softer so more chance of the curlew finding a worm with its bill. Nearby also on Tuesday a water rail was seen in the ditch, a fieldfare in the car park, Cetti's warbler near the park entrance, 300 knot on the mud, 2 red-breasted mergansers offshore and 12 greylag geese flying over.

There were several sightings of woodcock at the park while the snow was on the ground, the first sighting was one flying over the car park on Wednesday 28th. This picture is the best of a dull shot of one watched feeding near the park pond on Thursday 1st. This bird was seen twice earlier on a walk round the park under the cliff-top trees. There were also three sightings on Friday 2nd, possibly two birds involved, one seen feeding behind the park pond. One was also seen that day in the ditch by the park entrance by Martin Cock. A woodcock was seen being flushed from a ditch by a fox near the park pond on Saturday 3rd.

A silent snipe came out of the ditch by the park gates and dropped quickly back down further along. When it took off again and landed further along the same ditch, the bird was just a common snipe, although still more confiding than usual.

The green woodpecker was having a difficult time flicking away the snow from the car park trying to expose some grass to probe for food.
A redwing, fieldfare and two song thrushes were noted on Wednesday 28th at the park, a Cetti's warbler feeding among the reedmace stems at the pond, meadow pipit on the pond ice, two little egrets roosting on the bushes and a Mediterranean gull offshore.

The beach and the nearby cliff were some of the least snow covered areas of the park. This golden plover was walking along the water's edge on a very cold and windy Thursday 1st.
Four hundred knot, four black-tailed godwits were noted on mud later in the day and a great northern diver flew into the Colne.

At the partially frozen park pond on Thursday, 2 little egrets, 50 teal, 4 shoveler, 21 gadwall, 3 tufted duck, 25 mallard, pair of swans and 3 little grebes were noted along with a muntjac deer under the trees at the back.

The cold snap has seen the unusual sight of a small flock of pintail at the park three days running. Four pintail were just offshore on Thursday 1st, then nine flew over the park and the beach on Friday 2nd, followed the next day by six of the birds resting on the ice at the park pond on Saturday. Later these six pintail were feeding offshore in the shallow water as the tide came in. One of the males had a ochreous orange stain to his white belly.
Four pintail were also seen by Martin Cock on Saturday 3rd near Ray Island.

At the pond on Friday were 50 teal, 16 gadwall, water rail, a black-tailed godwit and redshank roosting on the ice. Ten bar-tailed godwits were on the mudflats and a rock pipit seen by the cliff while a water rail and a teal were by the park entrance at dusk.

Thirty bar-tailed godwits and 300 knot were on the park mudflats on Saturday 3rd. Back in the car park the pair of house sparrows chirped as the snow started to thaw.