THURSDAY 12 FEBRUARY
BIRDING BEDFORDSHIRE
Following an early morning post from Tony P,
I decided to spend my day targeting a number of Bedfordshire Yearticks -
starting once again with Broom's adult male Merlin which I manage to miss
virtually every time. Today was no different, and despite Tony leaving it on its
favourite perch at 0900 hours, it was nowhere to be found at
0940......
The pair of Common Shelduck were still
present on GYPSY LANE WEST, as were 2 Mute Swans, 3 Wigeon, 2 Great Crested
Grebe, Common Buzzard, 7 Stock Dove, 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Fieldfare and a
Mistle Thrush.
On the opposite side of the road, at GYPSY
LANE EAST, numerous wildfowl including 2 Greylag Geese, 24 Atlantic Canada
Geese, 9 Mute Swan, 3 Shoveler, 2 Gadwall, 4 Teal and 13 Pochard, as well as 298
Lapwing & 28 European Golden Plover at the shallower end.
Nearby, the adult PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was
feeding with a small number of Greylag to the west of PEACOCK'S LAKE (BROOM),
while at the VILLAGE PIT (BROOM), I was pleased to find 4 LESSER REDPOLL in the
Silver Birches there - a species hard to come by locally this winter. The pit
held 6 Little Grebe, 18 Coot, 16 Gadwall & 8 Tufted Duck, while 4 Red-legged
Partridge, 8 Redwing, 2 Linnet and a Goldfinch were noted.
Targeting MARSH TIT, I made my way to
PALMER'S WOOD, OLD WARDEN, where a pair were duly found. Far more lucrative
however was a crop field adjacent to the horse paddock and opposite the church
car park, yielding a female BRAMBLING amongst 45 Chaffinch & 5 Reed Bunting
- another species very scarce this winter. The wood harboured most of the common
species one would expect, including Jay, Song Thrush (several singing males),
Nuthatch, Fieldfare (130), Long-tailed Tit, Redwing (116), both Green &
Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sparrowhawk & Tawny Owl, as well as over 15
Reeve's Muntjac Deer & a Brown Hare.
There was no sign of any Egyptian Geese at
HARROWDEN LANE WATER MEADOWS - just 31 Canada Geese & 270 feeding
Woodpigeons, nor of any Peregrines at CARDINGTON but House Sparrow numbers were
holding up well with at least 15 surviving on the outskirts of CARDINGTON. The
road between there and OLD WARDEN produced Red Kite, Common Buzzard, 3 Common
Kestrel & a flock of 40 Lapwing.
Joining Tony P at the SANDY SMITH NATURE
RESERVE (CLOPHILL), we both searched in vain for the wintering Great Grey Shrike
(seen yet again yesterday), compensation coming in the form of 26 Yellowhammer,
15 Linnet, 4 Reed Bunting, 70 Common Starling, 90 Fieldfare, 25 Redwing & 2
Green Woodpecker.
At FLITWICK MOOR SSSI, not a sniff of either
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker or Siskin - just 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Song
Thrush (in song) and Common Kestrel and at BARTON HILL ROAD/SWEDISH COTTAGES
ICKNIELD WAY TRACK, nothing in the way of Corn Bunting (or Great Grey Shrike) -
100 Skylarks highlighting here. I also had a good look for the Great Grey Shrike
reported from near Pegsdon but once again drew a blank
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