bretton diary

nature notes from the west riding

feeding frenzy

img_4889_edited-1

A bitterly cold night should have meant plenty of action around the feeders this morning, but stocks had run dry and it was just lucky I had a bag of mixed seed in my bag.

img_8642_edited-1_filtered

Within minutes it was mayhem. Three Grey Squirrels took the lion’s share but a visiting Great Spotted Woodpecker got a look in, and stayed just long enough for me to grab a pic or two.

img_8693_edited-1_filtered

Too quick for the camera though was a Sparrowhawk strike that nearly reduced the Jackdaw population by one. Unfortunatley for the large female sprawk, every corvid in the park came to the rescue and the lucky victim narrowly escaped during the scrum.

Todays Roll call: Great Crested Grebe (1), Grey Heron (6), Mute Swan (1), Canada Goose (20+), Teal (7), Mallard (23), Pochard (3), Tufted Duck (13), Goosander (5), Pheasant (1), Coot (10+), Lapwing (3), Blackheaded Gull (100+), Sparrowhawk (1), Wood Pigeon (130+), Stock Dove (3), Kingfisher (2), Green Woodpecker (1), Great Spotted Woodpecker (5), Wren (2), Dunnock (1), Robin (2), Blackbird (20+), Mistle Thrush (1), Song Thrush (1), Redwing (1),  Coal Tit (2), Blue Tit (4), Great Tit (6), Nuthatch (3), Jay (3), Jackdaw (100+), Rook ( 75+), Carrion Crow (5), Chaffinch (2)

January 31, 2009 Posted by bluebirder | birds, landscapes | , , | 3 Comments