Our summer avian visitors have long since gone but their place has been taken by birds which breed far to the North of us, taking advantage of our mild winters. Two blogs ago Dean discussed the Golden Plovers, but this last week the obvious winter visitors are the Fieldfares. About two hundred were counted yesterday on the reserve, seen mainly on the hawthorn bushes along the Lake Walk along the meadow. Look closely and there may be a Redwing in amongst them.
The winter has been mild, even in Scandinavia, so we have not seen the numbers of birds we sometimes see and this may explain the low numbers of Starlings roosting on the reserve.
It is the trend to plant small trees on car parks and these are usually ones with berries. So if you see birds in them then have a close look as the may be our winter thrushes (Fieldfares and Redwings), Starlings or even Waxwings. And if you have a berry tree in your garden - I have a rowan, Sorbus 'Joseph Rock' which still has its yellow berries - then the resident bird may well be a Mistle Thrush guarding its food supply.
Lockhart took this photo of Fieldfares yesterday - thanks.
And lets not forget the Reed Bunting which can easily be overlooked at this time of year.
Peter