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Saturday
March 13th Jon Lloyd Very spring like day after some very cold days this week. We had some changeable weather with snow showers and hail. Today the weather was warm but breezy and the patches of blue sky covered with dark sleet and snow clouds at times made for a good morning. The first Spring flowers are up and out. On the banks of the Strine in a more shelted spot I came across a number of Colstfoot flowers already out. Pretty forceful fellars these! I have seen them burst through tarmac. Always one of the very first spring flowers along with Lesser Celandine that usually comes a close second, taking a few extra days to uncurl its Yellow petals. The swans at the Buttery have swollen in numbers to 62 Mute and a single Whooper Swan and of course the oversized Aylesbury Duck which seems to enjoy their company! In the week Martin reported 65 Mute which is the winter record. There were plenty of Fieldfares out on the newly ploughed fields today with small numbers of Redwings amongst them. Parties of 20 or thirty Starlings busied themselves amongst the flocks. On the low land below the Grange I spotted the three Mistle Thrushes. They were in the same field last year. Presumably these were the same birds that have fervently guarded the Holly against all comers up by the Farm. They have kept vigilance throughout the winter. The pools on the wetland we fairly busy. There are a couple of Canadian geese here now claiming territory. They were none to impressed when another pair landed on the pools at the western end of the wetland and spend a good 10 minutes honking and braying in disgust. Nice party of Wigeon on this morning but not as many as Pete recorded in the week (20 I think!). I could hear a Little Grebe calling somewhere this morning but couldn't pick it up in the binoculars. Pete had three earlier in the week. A pair of Willow Tits came to the feeders whilst I was in the hide. I always find these on call and then see them. They have such a distinctive vocab! The Hawthorn paddock turned up a party of Long Tailed Tits, Goldcrest and Treecreeper. At the back of the farm, on the neighbouring property the Rape field I talked about last week still holding a good 150 Linnet and few Lapwing. The morning turned up 3 Buzzards, two sightings of Sparrowhawk and a Little Owl in its usual spot by the farm.
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