Dave H

Not the best day for a walk in the local park, with cold toes and noses we ventured to the local park as a break from staying indoors (cabin fever sets in very quickly lately!).

This is a park on the edge of the 'burbs' that we have visited over the last 30+ years. I've made a little mental list of the species we've seen and was pretty pleased to spot a half dozen Bullfinches recently for the first time in the park.

My wife was hoping to see Bullfinches again and...

My employer sends me to work a few shifts in Crawley from time to time. I don't enjoy working late shifts from a hotel, but have settled down to make the most of it. One advantage in winter, is that I have 5 to 6 hours of daylight time to myself each day.
Whilst there, I have visited the RSPB site at Pulborough and had a pretty good time, adding a few lifers to my list, most recently a male Hen Harrier.

Several birders were keen to share their sighting of Bewick Swans...

It's quite a while since my last entry and since my last forum entry.
Seems that I don't have much to report, but that's only because our sightings are run-of-the-mill.
Some highlights of the year since my last entry are probably the Crossbills near Loch Sunart, Cuckoos and various warblers around the same area.
We were feeling hard done to when walk after walk, we failed to see a Kingfisher other than in rapid transit. This was remedied almost accidentally when we happened...

My wife is very fond of Goldfinches. From only a short distance their colourful heads can be muted and dulled. Through bins their colouring can be made out clearly. My wife says that they are so pretty, they could have escaped from captivity.
We sometimes go looking for Goldfinches alongside the canal. The rows of Hawthorn and hedgerows in the fields are a good place to see them, although even then we can't be sure that we will see some every time.

During this week, we went...

We visited this new site today. Actually, I always thought that it was "Dovestones" and have sat on the Dove Stone overlooking the reservoir below. It's one of our local walking areas, near to wilderness on the tops of the moors. Not so much new to us, but now being managed by the RSPB.
Lots of work planned here, quite large scale restoration of the peat lands on the tops and replanting some of the pine plantations with deciduous trees. I hope I get old enough to see this come...