January 17th 2009

A wet morning looking for owls and waxwing in the valley with Barn Owl hunting the A45 near the turn for Woolscott and a Tawny Owl in Lower Street, Willoughby near the duck pond. As the light improved I retraced my steps back to the Woolscott turn where a large owl had been reported quartering fields yesterday afternoon and found a bedraggled Short-eared Owl resting on fence post before it flew over the A45 towards the prison to hunt and a Little Owl was not far away perched on telegraph pole. A four owl species day and not even 8am. I then went to Nerthercote via Sawbridge using the county road as a short cut. A good search of Sawbridge failed to locate any Waxwing though a Blackcap female and Treecreeper were good birds for this area and the canal below Nethercote had a Kingfisher which is uncommon on this busy waterway. No sign of the possible redstart species (probably Black) that had been reported in the week, just a few Chaffinches and a Sparrowhawk. The feeders at Railway Cottage, Flecknoe had 15+ House Sparrows, 2 Tree Sparrows, Willow Tit and Coal Tit and more searching for Waxwing around Grandborough Fields Farm produced only Buzzard and Raven with Woodbine Farm still having yesterdays 400+ Fieldfare and 50 Redwing, 2 Buzzard and Reed Bunting. Little else seen till I arrived at the junction of Flecknoe Rd / A426 with 2 female Brambling on the smallholding opposite and 40 Stock Dove nearby.
The afternoon spent with John Judge and Hall Brothers for the roost at Draycote Water with the southerly wind becoming stronger. Unusually many were coming in close to shelter from the wind which seem to only to add to the confusion of separating Yellow-legged Gull from white headed Herring Gull. Final totals were 4 adult Yellow-legged Gull and adult winter Med Gull. Also seen were 3 Great-northern Diver, 18 Goosander and Shag.

Richard