On a recent trip down south I managed to spot over 30 different birds during the journey, this included a few surprises such as Barn Owl and Peregrine Falcon. In addition to these birds I also managed three mammals, Red Deer, Fox and a Stoat resplendent in its white coat, a first for me. This got me thinking that if I can spot all this whilst driving, safely I might add, how much can we see up at Tollie when equipped with binoculars, scopes and time. I would like to think we could get the birds list in to three figures for the year, as for the mammals, invertebrates and amphibians let us see what turns up and this can set the bench mark for future years. I am hoping to start work on the wildlife garden in the near future and looking into the possibility of a pond, which I’m sure will all help to encourage the wildlife.
Now that I have rambled on about my wanderings, what about the Kites. Numbers of Kite visiting Tollie have continued to increase slowly, as have the numbers of buzzards, Crows and Ravens. We have also had some good sized flocks of Fieldfare and of course the resident GSW, chaffinches, Greenfinches and Tits. Further out from Tollie, Whooper Swans, Geese and several large flocks of Pigeons can be seen. Some Kite roost monitoring has been taking place and we have two birds that have been spotted down in a roost on the Aberdeenshire/Angus border. One with wing tags Blue/Pink 0, AKA Professor Feathers, this was the bird that bred in the area last year with an Aberdeen male. The other bird was tagged blue/blue 92, apart from rhyming, this birds also has a bit of a tale to tell. It was found under its nest in quite a weak state, after being taken home and looked after by a member of staff it was returned after a week of TLC to a new nest where it was successfully fostered by birds there. Of the Satellite tagged birds we are still receiving data and the birds are moving around the area dodging the weather and trying to stay warm.
Now the Bramblings, quite simply, I’ve never seen one and it’s about time I did, so please let me know if you see any so I can race along and finally put a tick against its name in my book.
Just in case you have forgotten what the look like.
I make that 14 on the list already, 15 when the Brambling turns up.
I shall leave you with a question
What is the smallest Finch?
well then, at Tollie I've seen Kite, Buzzard, Wood Pidgeon, GSW, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Raven, Crow, Hoodie, Great Tit, Greenfinch. I'll add to it when more turns up.. What about the Jay that you saw in the woods too??
If you can see or hear it from Tollie, it's on the list.
Also, does your list include birds that fly overhead?
(really long pause with a puzzled expression)Oh.....now I see. It took me a while, but I got the joke eventually!!
Half inch, the blame has to go to RSPB Weymouth for that one.