March 28th 2009

I was out by 5am in a bitterly cold north westerly wind that had been increasing all night and averaging 20mph so cycling was hard as I made my way in to the Grandborough valley via Woolscott passing a Little Owl perched on a telegraph pole and 2 Barn Owls drifting over which were not totally unexpected but I was surprised by the Badger that shuffled past just before the junction to Grandborough. Continued on to Nethercote where 7 Tree Sparrow 6 Yellowhammer and 3 Red-legged Partridge were just outside this hamlet then on to Bush Hill, Flecknoe where single Corn Bunting, 5 Fieldfare and 4 Tree Sparrow were dodging the attraction of a female Merlin. Nothing of note seen on my way to Draycote Water but arrived in time to see 2 Siskin feeding by toilet block in the country park before the crowds arrived. The wind had increased with occasional gusts of over 30pmh and made viewing difficult but managed 2 Great-northern Diver some distance out along with 3 female Goosander while the Red-necked Grebe was off toft bank. Toft shallows had Swallow, White Wagtail, 2 Sand Martin, 4 Goldeneye, 25 Wigeon, male Pochard, 4 Teal and 7 Gadwall. Arrived home in time to find out I had missed an Osprey at Draycote.
I decided that the wind was not worth fighting again so afternoon spent gardening with very little seen going over. This evening the wind has dropped and swung to north east so should be a decent day for birding tomorrow.

Richard