Early year surprises at Salford Priors plus one Waxwing

Nicely posing

 McDonalds Breakfast

The Evesham big twitch scene

 You looking at me

Shadow shot

Side shot

Rather like this shot

 Arty Brambling using new editing tool

 Fieldfares

Redwing

Salford Priors Waxwing (Squire Photography)

I just didn’t fancy a morning with the masses in Shropshire twitching so headed down to the pits for some peace and quiet. First stop would be to drive the extra few miles to Evesham to catch up with a Waxwing seen by Majestic wines. I quickly located the bird in the pub car park  and enjoyed this winter royalty sat up high and occasional feeding on the nearby berries.


 
There were plenty of wildfowl on Pophills on arrival but nothing out of the ordinary, not even the regular Green Sandpiper was around. Around 800 Wood Pigeons fly from the plantation as I passed but there were very few passerines.

The orchards and surrounding trees were full of winter thrushes. Certainly a great time of year to see Redwings and Fieldfare in all their beauty.  The Sparrowhawk flew across in front of me when I was on top of the bund. 10 Shoveler were notable on the main pit but the Teal seem very unsettled. The geese flock had moved closed to the road to allow better viewing but sadly I couldn’t find the Pink-foot I saw on the same day last year.

 
I headed up to Hillers for a wander around the gardens as this area is great for small birds coming out of the woodland looking to feed. In the hide I met Norm Evans who I used to do the pub quiz with years ago. After recording a few year ticks from the hide including Greater Spotted Woodpecker & Chaffinch I investigated the hedgerows where I found a female Brambling on the oak tree. It was very difficult to get an image of because of the branches and sun. I showed Norm & another youngster the bird before heading home.

 
I just completed my first ride of my bike for 14 months when the phone went from Andy in the village as he could see two Waxwings from his front window on a small rowan tree. Despite a rapid drive the birds had gone to roost by the time I’d arrived. The following morning Andy & Lee reported the birds were still present and were now a flock of three.