Nethergong Birding

I spent a few hours wandering around the Nethergong area yesterday in dull conditions which produced 2 Stonechat, 2 Marsh Harrier, c120 Stock Dove, 1 Woodcock, 2 Raven, 1 Kestrel, 1 Snipe, c50 Lapwing, 1 Common Crane still out in fields between Nethergong and Sarre and a few Redwing and Fieldfare. I then spent a while making another feeding station in a clearing in the woods, drilling a few holes big enough for the acorns to go in. My hope is that I can tease in a Jay or two which are often in the woods as I pass by. The only issue here is that the clearing is better in the afternoon when the sun comes around. 'Nocmig' recording Friday night produced a Curlew (135) which takes the year list on to an incredible 135 species. 

With rain Sunday morning, I thought I would have an afternoon session in the hide as the sun had come out late morning. I didn't really expect much action as it had only been in place a day but I thought it was worth a try, if not to learn what is around. I topped up the log with some acorns and peanuts and settled in. For at least half an hour nothing visited but then a few Blue, Great and Long tailed Tits passed through with some of them flying down for the nuts. 3 Jays could be seen flying around nearby which gave me some optimism and soon after, a male Great spotted Woodpecker flew on to the log which gave me a chance for some shots. A Magpie looked on and with birds starting to gain in confidence, a Jay suddenly appeared for a few seconds allowing a few rushed shots. In the next hour the Tits continued to come and go along with a couple of Robins. The Jay made one more brief appearance which made the session worthwhile. Hopefully they will continue to get used to the log and if I keep on topping up the acorns and peanuts, I may have some more photographic opportunities with these shy birds throughout the winter. Also noted today were 2 Raven, c220 Lapwing, c200 Fieldfare, c80 Redwing, 2 Teal, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Woodcock, 1 Marsh Harrier, 4 Mute Swan, 1 Peregrine, 1 Common Buzzard. 

Great spotted Woodpecker

Jay 

Curlew