YESTERDAY AT ABOUT 6 PM AT SANDY RSPB, I SAW A PARTRIDGE LURKING IN THE UNDERGROWTH BUT COULD NOT GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO IDENTIFY IT CONCLUSIVELY. COULD ANYONE TELL ME WHETHER PARTRIDGES ARE FREQUENT VISITORS AND IF SO, WHETHER IT WAS LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN A GREY OR A RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE?
Hi,
I am happy to defer to any local experts based at the Lodge (I'm in Oxfordshire myself) but I suspect the most likely species around there would have been Red-legged: think Greys are a bit scarce in Bedfordshire, like most other places these days.
Colin
Hello Sotonman
I think Colin is right and the bird you saw was a red-legged partridge. Greys are, unfortunately fairly rare here but red-legged ones are often seen beneath the feeders on the lawn next to the shop. I sometimes see them on my travels around Bedfordshire too, as they seem to like standing by the side of roads for some reason. They are attractive birds but I'd really like to see more greys too.
Hope you enjoyed your visit
Watch out for swifts