St Andrews Park

Things were slightly more interesting in the park than last week, with 6 very flighty Redwings seen several times in flight and briefly sitting in trees. Also a Black-headed Gull was strutting its stuff - an unusual bird to see locally although there were 2 in the park last winter. In addition there were 4 Starlings, a Jay, a rather pale Pied Wagtail and, best of all, a flock of about 40 Goldfinches - very impressive.

Black-headed Gull

Pied Wagtail

Starlings

At the station a Raven was sat on the TV mast and a Jay was nearby. A couple of Greenfinches were seen with the usual Chaffinches, House Sparrows and Goldfinches and a small group of Redwings flew into the trees briefly.

Raven

Montpelier Park

Lots of common stuff in the park  this morning - the sound of Goldfinch and Robin song was almost deafening! Also a sub-singing Blackbird heard. Great and Blue Tits were feeding in the trees along with a few Chaffinches. Also a Grey Squirrel running along the top of a fence.

The feeders at the station were dominated by Goldfinches with smaller numbers of Chaffinch and House Sparrows.

Blackcaps

The station seems to be producing better birds these days and this morning there were no less than 3 Blackcaps; 2 males and a female. These are my first of the winter. Nearby a Coal Tit was singing and the Chaffinch flock numbered about 15.

Fieldfares

A flock of 10 or so Fieldfares flew over the station this morning and the feeders attracted a gaggle of House Sparrows, half a dozen Chaffinches, a Goldfinch, the usual Collared Doves and a Greenfinch.

Montpelier Station

A Mistle Thrush flew over (unusual here) and the feeders had mainly Chaffinches on them plus a Blue Tit.

St Andrews Park

Another very quiet bird walk this morning. Perhaps the mild weather means that many birds are not using the park's food resources. There was also lots of leaves still on the trees which made spotting birds more difficult. The full list is as follows:
Blackbird - 3 or 4 seen
Carrion Crow - a few
Robin - 1 or 2 seen and heard
Goldfinch - just 1 or 2 birds noted
Chaffinch - about 3 birds
Starling - 2 or 3 seen
Feral Pigeon - a flock of about 10 birds seen
Woodpigeon - a few
Jay - 1 gave goodish views
Dunnock - a few about including 1 in the wildlife hedge
Great Tit - 1 or 2
Coal Tit - 1 seen
Pied Wagtail - 1 'flyover' heard
Wren - 1 heard

St Pauls Park

Not much of note this morning - a Wren, a Blackbird, a Goldfinch and a few Herring Gulls. A Skylark flying northeast over Portland Square was a surprise.

Sparrowhawk

A Sparrowhawk flew over the station this morning. The only other birds of note were a couple of Goldfinches, a Robin and a Dunnock.

A couple of Harlequin Ladybirds in the kitchen yesterday evening.

Harlequins and hoverflies

A bright morning - quite warm in sheltered sunny spots - so I had half an eye on invertebrates. At Fairlawn Road there was a butterfly sp. briefly - possibly a Small Tortoiseshell.  The Ivy-covered wall halfway down St Andrews Road was buzzing with wasps, Eristalis  and Syrphus hoverflies and various Muscid species. At the station there were several Harlequin Ladybirds on the footbridge.

Syrphus hoverfly

Harlequin Ladybirds

Birds today included a party of Long-tailed Tits and 2 Jays at Fairlawn Road while at the station the feeders attracted a Coal Tit, a Greenfinch, a Chaffinch, 2 Collared Doves, a Great Tit and a Goldfinch. A Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail flew over the station. 

St Pauls Park

Nothing to write home about this morning - a fly-over Pied Wagtail, a single Herring Gull, a couple of Goldfinches, a Robin or two, a Great Tit and a Dunnock.

Thrush Hour

There was an influx of Blackbirds at the station this morning - I counted 8 or 9 at least. Also about 10 Redwings flew over along with a couple of Chaffinches and Greenfinches and about 15 Woodpigeons, so things were definitely on the move. About 7 or 8 Long-tailed Tits were feeding in the trees on the disused platform.