February 3rd 2009

A long overdue purple patch day with a good dose of MSL. Motivation – not easy getting out of bed to -3, laying snow, frozen saddle and black ice, Skill – managed to combine field craft and observation skills to identify a new valley bird for me and Luck – when I took a left instead of a right footpath and bumped in to a cracker just feet away.
Decided not to risk cycling in to the Grandborough valley choosing to leave Trog by the M45 / Southam Rd, Dunchurch Bridge and worked the footpath between here and the set a side fields that are interesting me at the moment. A fair amount of walking involved – well slipping and sliding, no pain no gain.
I had seen very little until walking between bunkers Hill and Whitehall Farm a blob flew past in to bright sunshine – alarm bells rang but failed to get any clinching details. Luckily I had predicted it would land back in wood so had the scope ready and after it circled a couple of times it landed before flying off east towards Tollgate Farm. Hawfinch male - a valley first for me and the last on my patch was in 2006 when we had an influx with up to 5 at Draycote Water.
Now that I had a smile on me face the cold disappeared and checking on the seeding areas I had laid out yesterday they had attracted 14 Tree Sparrow, 10 Reed Bunting and 2 Corn Bunting along with 50+ Chaffinches with a Marsh Tit, Great-spotted Woodpecker and 50 Redwing in nearby Beck Hill. Most of yesterday’s damp areas were frozen so no sign of the Jack Snipe but Willow Tit seen and the set-a-side was a hive of activity with 300 Linnet, 150 Chaffinch, 40 Greenfinch, 18 Goldfinch, 5 Tree Sparrow, 4 Brambling and 6 Reed Bunting. Also in area were 6 Red-legged Partridge, Buzzard, 16 Stock Dove and Raven before retracing my steps back to Dunchurch and a cock up in my directional skills took me down the wrong path and straight in to a perched Short-eared Owl. Don’t know who was more surprised. I had seen one in the area sometime ago and one had been seen while I was away so probably the same bird, though I failed to see it on my last two visits. Back to Trog in a singing mood (god forbid) adding another Raven and 2 Red-legged Partridge to the list plus 2 Snipe, 14 Siskin, 4 Skylark and a female Merlin near the motorway. The final goody of the morning was the sight of 27 White-fronted Geese heading south east over the valley so with a skein that big and the present country wide weather conditions there’s a chance they could be wild and not plastic.
Mid-day, the cold weather pushed 9 Fieldfare in to my garden briefly and 2 Coal Tit also present.
Another attempt for white wingers at Draycote Water was far more successful with both 2nd winter Iceland Gull and 1st winter Glaucous Gull in roost though both came in late along with 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls and adult winter Med Gull. Other sightings included 5 female Pintail arriving just before dusk, all 4 Great-northern Divers on the surface together off biggen bay, Shag and Red-necked Grebe off farborough bank, Little Owl in biggen bay and 33 Goosander roosted. Also present were Grey Wagtail, 300 Lapwing, 800 Wood Pigeon, 100 Redwing, 34 Siskin and Buzzard.

Richard