Yesterday (Sunday) morning was forecast early on for light winds and sunny spells with fog moving in. With this in mind, I decided to make an early visit just before 06:00and walk up the path (in the photo) out on to the marsh to listen again for Grey Partridge.
It wasn't long thankfully until I could hear a distant Grey Partridge (85) calling so continued up the path where I heard it a few times more until it soon fell silent around 06:10. I spent a while listening to the dawn chorus before driving around the Nethergong and took a brief walk before returning back to the car to get the hide. I had seen on a previous visit a Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer singing from a bush so thought I would give it a go in the hide to see whether they would turn up. I was soon set up and with the sun shining nicely, I could hear both species singing nearby in the early morning frosty weather. The fog started to come in slowly but thankfully, both species turned up in the next 30 minutes which enable me to take a few images. Not quite the Yellowhammer shots I wanted but it's a start so maybe another visit is in order to give it another go, if the weather actually gives me a chance at the weekends. With the fog starting to get heavier, I packed up and wandered back to the car where I noted 1 Raven, 2 Stonechat and the usual common species singing which is now nice to hear. Recording Saturday night produced another Little Grebe calling but with March around the corner, I hope to get the recorder out as often as I can as this can be a good month for migrating species. Depending on any 'nocmig' sessions this week if the wind eases, the month ends on 85 species, 10 more species better than 2023 at the same point and my best ever February total. There were 14 'nocmig' sessions made at night during the month with Long eared Owl and Little Grebe of note.
More delightful shots, Marc. I'm particularly envious of the Yellowhammer. Until a few years ago, I could have pretty much guaranteed to come up with a Yellowhammer on demand, within 5 minutes of our home. Haven't seen one locally, other than once in my garden (!), for a couple of years or more.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes - - - Richard