Account opener at Salford Priors GP

Patch mapping

 Nuthatch

Great Spotted Woodpecker

An opportunity to head to Yorkshire for the Little Bustard was presented to me on the 1st January for the following day however the Father-in-law has been unwell and I didn't want to be three hours away and unable to get back in a hurry.I felt for all those who did go as the Bustard had departed.

I opted to stay local and visit the Gravel Pits for the first time in 2015. This year I'll will be entering the Pathwork Challenge as a bit of a measure of how good or bad the area is. The day started with a real positive when I stopped to chat to a local farmer who then offered to give me access to his 70 hectares of farm land to bird as and when I wanted. The area covered is shown in the map above. 

The main pit was relatively quiet and I did wonder if they was a local shoot that had flushed the main birds. The female Scaup was still present among the Tufties, Pochard, Gadwall and Little Grebe.  

The Goldcrest were calling in their usual spot on the edge of the plantation and I did think I heard a Firecrest but despite my best efforts I couldn't locate it.

At the top of the village there were good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing in the Christmas Tree field. Always a great site on a winters day.

Over the crossroads on the edge of Hillers I had an hour watching the woodland species including Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Wren, Blue/Great Tit, Green Woodpecker and Nuthatch.