Getting Some Exercise

A day of half-decent weather last Sunday week [sorry] meant I took a stroll about the Patch and saw some nice birds. This goal was greatly aided by running into Bailey Sr. and The Murphys, who - in carefully socially-distanced natters - provided some very helpful gen. [Cheers!]

I may have had a Patch Yearlist on my mind, and certainly one of my local bogey birds: The Elusive-To-The-Point-Of-Pimperneldom fiend that is...... Dun Dun DUUUUUUUN  Marsh Tit! ::Thunder Rolls and Someone Screams!!::

Yes, really. Marsh Tit. 

 

 

Seen on Patch by me exactly once, during the double cold winters of nigh a decade ago, when an influx of inland species into the area saw all manner of Wonderful Things hit my chunk of coast, to my somewhat ambivalent [it was hard times for them] delight.*

Yes, so, getting on with it; my one period of exercise a day, taken on foot from home, took me to the south. Not all the way, by any means, but a fair distance.

A lone GC Grebe off Torre Abbey was my first on Patch of the year [I maintain, what's going on??], and dodging the cyclists up the water meadow boardwalk**, I found no sign of Grey Wags or Siskin [the former not that surprising, really]. The fish ponds gave Mallard and Moorhen [still no Coot...], but then, oh joy of joys, not far from the Gamekeeper's Cottage in Manscombe Wood, a rather vocal Marsh Tit [possibly with another]. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO  :D

There then ensued a Wild Bird Chase as I attempted to hunt down the 'at least two, possibly three' Bramblings with Chaffinches and Linnets, while low-flying Skylarks and Mipit, at least 33 Redwing, and other thrushes and assorted pigeon-y things tried their best to get in the way... [Oh, also all the civilians, their doggies, speeding bike riders, to be encountered on footpaths on a lockdown weekend when it isn't actually raining sideways.... ::Bright smile::]

Redwing

Well, at least some birds were obliging.

Cirl Bunting

"C'mon mate, I'm sitting in a tree!"

Nice pose, shame about the light...

Cirl Buntings

Females, being slightly kinder

You may be wondering why all the Cirls? [Or not, they are lovely] Well, the big finch flock[s] - probably in excess of 400 in all, primarily Chaffinches and Linnets, but hard to count or even ratio as they kept splitting and combining - were very twitchy and even more mobile***. A female and male Brambling were there - yay - but getting an actual shot where you could see what they are... 

Drat and so on.

Chaffinches, Linnets, female Brambling

[No, really. Can't you see it??]

Slightly better, a comparison photo;

 

Stock Doves and Woodpigeons.

At least 16 of the former with several score of the latter. 

 

The shift in habitat from the core of the Patch [trading Private Property for rolling farmland, woods you can get into, wet bits.. ah, the joy!] helped assorted yearticks fall, though another and more thorough go on my way back again failed to find the Siskin flock. 

 

I did see this bird with some yellow on;

Little Egret.

Those feets!

Swinging by Haldon Pier on my way home, I was only able to find one Purple Sand [with at least 9 Turnstone] amidst a lot of disturbance, including two anglers right where they like to roost...

Not a bad walk at all. :)

Be Seeing You...

[[* Note that 'by me'. Reported from Cockington way, especially up at Occombe Farm, most winters. I've gone there often looking for them and failed constantly. Try it some time.  No, not being snarky, it's a nice walk.

{Ok, apart from either having to dodge maniac bikers in the woods or larger though usually slower [!] vehicles on the old Totnes Road... ;) }

But there are nice flowers and sometimes even nice birds, too. :) ]]

[[** Really. I'm used to 'No Cycling' signs being blithely ignored, but even an ounce of common sense says boardwalks and bikes don't mi- ah, who am I kidding??? ]]

[[*** I'd apologise for that sentence, but that would imply remorse... ;) ]]