Saturday 7th November: Ruff
A run around the patch on a glorious morning with bright sunshine and a bit of a nip in the air found lots of interesting bird life. The small pools of water on the flood area are still there and along the South Channel there was a resting flock of 70 odd lapwing with a sleeping male RUFF in amongst them. Later a couple of dog walkers went through the flock and the birds re-located to the North Channel. There were the usual linnets buzzing around and a flock of 30 odd black-headed gulls in the North Channel. In amongst the pied wagtails was a single GREY WAGTAIL near Burgess Field NR gate. A flock of 60 odd sky larks flew over to the west which was highly unusual. There were also quite a few around the flood area. A single snipe was flushed from the Hinterland.
In Burgess Field NR there was plenty of bird activity along the hedgerows with a noticable increase in greenfinches in amongst the goldfinches and chaffinches. There were several bullfinches along the north end as well as quite a few meadow pipits. A single snipe was flushed from one of the north fields.
This ruff photo was taken earlier in the year when there was proper flood water but the plumage is identical to today's bird so I thought that I would include it again. © Adam Hartley
In Burgess Field NR there was plenty of bird activity along the hedgerows with a noticable increase in greenfinches in amongst the goldfinches and chaffinches. There were several bullfinches along the north end as well as quite a few meadow pipits. A single snipe was flushed from one of the north fields.
This ruff photo was taken earlier in the year when there was proper flood water but the plumage is identical to today's bird so I thought that I would include it again. © Adam Hartley