Nethergong Birding

I popped down to Nethergong last night (Saturday) about 7:45pm to put out my recorder for the night and was pleased to hear a Grey Partridge (97) calling from the eastern gate briefly. This is only my second record of this species here in 5 years so a most welcome bonus bird. On my way back to the car a Merlin flew through. On going through the recording from last night, I was pleased to hear eight minutes after I had left the recorder that a Raven flew through calling, presumably going to roost. Other bits noted included 2 Snipe, Teal and a Redwing. I arrived at Nethergong this morning at 05:30am where I spent a few hours walking around the site and fields looking for migrants. Despite some excellent habitat, I failed to find any Wheatear and Ring Ouzel but i'm sure they must pass through. Other birds noted included 4 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Little Owl, 3 Grey Heron, 25 Cormorant, 3 Marsh Harrier, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Jay, 1 Green Sandpiper,, 2 Swallow, 4 Yellowhammer, 3 Skylark, 1 Raven, 1 Kestrel, 2 Green Woodpecker, 4 Blackcap, 2 Common Whitethroat, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Common Buzzard and 2 Long tailed Tit. My highlight however was another encounter with a superb Red Fox which I was able to stalk quite closely to as she sat out in the sun. She was aware of my presence but seemed quite happy as long as I stayed still. The result was some superb views and a few nice photographs of this stunning animal. Back to work tomorrow but I will be recording during the nights in the week when the weather looks promising and hopefully by next weekend, I may add a few new species to the list as I move nearer to 100 species. 

Red Fox

Raven