Window to Wildlife

 We had a cracking day at the Warnham reserve today. We arrived shortly after opening time at 10AM, and had a leisurely wander around the reserve. We had a quick scan of the lake, but there was little of interest there, although we noted a Cormorant sat on a post had developed a white spot on its flank, indicating it was coming into breeding plumage, a welcome harbinger of spring.  Reminding us that it was still winter, (although the temperature was making that very clear already!) a handful of Redwing were sat in the tree tops. Around the feeders at Bullfinch hide, the main activity was from Blue and Great Tits, so we didn’t linger here. Arriving at Woodpecker Hide, we noted it was already very busy with both photographers and birds. On the ground Chaffinches were foraging and I quickly spotted a couple of Brambling, male and female, fly down to join them. That set the photographers off! The male was particularly striking, with black head fringed with grey, as is typical for ...

 The weather was rather dull this morning as we set off for Sherwood Rough, but at least it was an improvement on our last visit, when thick fog had severely restricted our viewing. As we began to climb the slope from the car park, we immediately, encountered a flock of finches, but only managed to get onto two Greenfinches which settled in the treetop. Climbing the hill, we heard Goldcrests and saw them flitting busily in the foliage as we passed.  Traversing the path on the ridge, was pretty disappointing, with limited bird song or activity, save an elusive Song Thrush. Suddenly a flock of finches appeared over the woodland and settled in a distant tree. Through the scopes we could see Greenfinches, but the light was atrocious and apart from the yellow wing flash it was hard to make out any features. We thought we had Hawfinches too, but struggled to get a decent view. We continued on, moving closer towards the birds, and eventually managed to get confirmatory views, when on...