Monday 21 March 2011

Patch...

22/02/11


After the morning in the garden i headed out onto the lickhill birch wood to have a sift through the finch flock there.
I quickly located the 3 BRAMBLING still at the top end of the wood feeding in a small hawthorn, this included 2 stunning males, but as always they remained frustraitinly elusive...
However after some time a pair of the bird landed upon a larger hawthorn?? at the bottom of the wood adjacent to my feeders, where i took a couple of long range snaps/videos...
as you would expect, they are rather crap..






even though the birds were almost constantly in the centre of the bush, i enjoyed the time with them, and their brief showings....
The 60c Siskin flock was still present, as was the 20c Goldfinch, and 10c Chaffinch, a Bullfinch also was seen again.

The feeders that i put in the wood a few weeks ago, had been attacked by a squirrel ( the nut feeder only) but the fat ball feeders femained untouched ( simple nut feeders with fat balls in them), so i filled the 3 feeders with fatballs, and a nice reward came, when i was watching Blue, Great, Coal and LTT visiting the feeders i saw a large ish bird drop onto one of the feeders compared to the 'tit's', raise my bins..

BLACKCAP, and not only that a stunning male..

My first since boxing day last year.....

i took some quick footage of the bird through a bush and it quickly dissapeared.



Given another month of so i wouldnt have really tried to take a video but given it was the first have seen this year, its noteworthy...
The patch run continues........
MB

3 comments:

Warren Baker said...

nice surprise having the Blackcap :-)

Robs Birding said...

Hi Mb , nice selection of finches there mate , and its always a bonus catching up with a Blackcap

atb
Rob

midlands birder said...

Cheers guys, being as it was my first seen blackcap of the year it was nice, and to have it on my makeshift feeding station aswell was great..
MB