Friday 9 November 2012

Thousands on the Marsh

An early morning call from a mate to meet him on the marsh was a sure sign that he had something special to show me and I arrived to find him waiting in his landrover, it took a short time for me to sit myself next to him. In the back were his dogs sprawling over the back of the front seat and sticking their noses in my ears.
He had brought me to show me the sight of in excess of ten thousand Fieldfare/Redwing in a ratio of two thirds Fieldfare to one third Redwing that he had witnessed yesterday, numbers after a lifetime spent in the countryside that amazed him, in fact there were so many the sky was black with them and he thinks it may have been many more. Just before I arrived a female Peregrine Falcon dropped into a flock of winter thrushes and although it failed to kill, as it flew across the marsh it dispersed huge numbers of birds, so we knew this would make it a much less exciting trip than we were hoping for. Rode round the marsh but only saw about one thousand Fieldfare and some four hundred Redwing, other birds were Red Kite two, Buzzard three,Yellowhammer one,Chaffinch forty, Mistle Thrush one, Great-Spotted Woodpecker one, Starling several Hundred, Grey Heron one and mixed Gull flocks on the flood water.
Winter Thrush

Redwing

Mistle Thrush

Buzzard

Mistle Thrush

Redwing

Blackbird from yesterday with white markings photographed on my garden wall
camboy

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