A Pleasant Little Sting in the Tail

Although it was my first day out since the official start of winter it was a surprisingly mild if grey day. While I had to endure the occasional shower of drizzle it was not too bad. A Grey Wagtail kicked things off, one flew over the garden before I'd left the house. Walking down past the steelworks added a Siskin to the list but there was really not much to report.

Finally, a bulldozer I like.

Weldon North Industrial Estate had plenty of winter thrushes but not a great deal else while Kirby Lane had plenty of bird life but nothing to raise the pulse. Deene farm ponds held a few Mallards and Moorhens while a Heron hunted amongst the sedges but not much else. Mistle Thrushes are a regular around the village and I saw several around, their ratchet calls are quite distinctive.

Jackdaw, a common sight around Deene.

The churchyard was once again rather lacking in Hawfinches although there were still thrushes feeding on the Yew Berries as well as  quite a few Goldcrests flitting among the trees. On the main lake the number of Pochards had increased slightly while the Shelduck was still there. A couple of Lapwings flying over were the only ones seen today while a Little Egret was my first here for some time.

If you like Canada Geese then Deene Lake may be the place for you.

The inflow was pretty quiet with just a single Snipe on the stump and little else while Deenethorpe airfield was also a little on the dull side with just a few aeroplanes to watch. The bridleway between the A427 and the woods had several groups of finches and buntings feeding on stubble but there was nothing of great interest amongst them..

The airfield was busy today.

Bears Lane had a flock of about ten Siskins near the wood and there was also a group of around fifty or so Herring Gulls near the airstrip. The large flock of Chaffinches and Yellowhammers that have frequented this area for a while had attracted a Reed Bunting but perhaps more importantly at least four Bramblings too. These were far and away the most interesting things seen today though I was also pleased to see that one of the piles of rubbish from last Monday had been removed.

Three of the four Bramblings at Bears Lane.