Can't see the Hawfinch for the trees!

But of all the months when earth is greener

Not one has green skies that are cleaner.

Clean and clear and sweet and cold,

They shine above the earth so old,

While the after-tempest cloud

Sails over in silence though winds are loud,

Till the full moon in the east

Looks at the planet in the west

And earth is silent as it is black.

November Sky/ Edward Thomas.

 10^th November.  Out today doing what I like best and where I feel most relaxed, out with Sam, back from his world travels for a break, birding on a fantastically wonderful autumnal day.  Not too cold, sun, and blue skies with wispy light cloud.  The light was wonderful and typical of such a day.  We arrived at Mitford in search of Hawfinches.  After all of the heavy rains of late the river was fast flowing and the ground wet and muddy, although not as waterlogged as we later found the land nearer the coast.

 It didn’t take long to find the unmistakeable shape of a single Hawfinch high in the tree near to the pathway.  It proved impossible to find others presumably well hidden by the still abundant leaves of the Hornbeams, although we did have one other fly overhead in the direction of an area we had found these birds favour on one off our previous visits.  Some other species seen during our visit included Grey Heron, Nuthatch, a party of Long Tailed Tits, Redwings feeding near to us on the berries, Bullfinch, Brambling and an over flying Sparrowhawk.  Many of the trees still held autumnal colouring but there was clear signs now that winter was not far away.

 Next stop was Widdrington Pool where we didn’t find anything of exceptional note although we did hear of a Hen Harrier being recorded that day in the area.  As per usual it was cold here.  We headed off towards Cresswell Pond and had lunch before visiting the hide but not before having a nice sighting of a flock of Tree Sparrows and seeing Long Tailed Ducks on the pond.

 The parking area at the pond was almost full although the actual hide quiet.  A Kestrel was perched atop of the post on the roadside.  Water levels were surprisingly low and much of the scrape area visible.  Birds seen included four Long Tailed Ducks, Oystercatchers, Lapwings, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Knot, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Curlew, numbers of Common Snipe,  Grey Heron, 6 Little Egrets, Red Breasted Meganser, Great Crested Grebe, large number of Little Grebe, Wigeon, Pink footed Geese, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese and a single Brent Goose.  A Water Rail was heard.  The seasons of wild geese is always exciting, especially on clear crisp days and we saw numerous skeins during the afternoon.  As we drove away from the pond towards Druridge Pools I thought I saw what could have been a Short Eared Owl flying along the edge of the reeds where they joined the pond.  A very flashing moment so I couldn’t be sure.

Little Egret

The rains had ensured that the pools at Druridge were very high and there was little of real interest to note, although thankfully the air was still and it was unusually warm looking from the open hide.  A Stonechat was seen in the dunes.

 By the time we reached East Chevington the sun was blazing and we enjoyed a walk along to the bay where we hoped to see Snow Buntings.  No luck there and in fact it was very quiet and the tide was high.  Sanderling and Pied Wagtails were seen and Sam noted a close in Red Throated Diver which had dived and disappeared by the time I got to look.

 We hadn’t been to East Chevington for some tie so it was good to see those dreadful metal hides have gone.  We refused to use them anyway, as did most birders.  Hopefully the new hides are fire-proofed to protect from the local yobs.  I remember a visitor to the area complaining on one occasion about birders not using the hide, ignorant of the fact that he was the odd one out as few birders with sense ever did.

 The dune area was picturesque today with the sunshine, clear blue sky, the occasional wispy cloud and complete stillness in the air.  I could have had a snooze on the bench in the warm sun at one point but resisted the temptation.  Strangely when I looked at my phots at home, one of the clouds took on the shape of a person.  Creepy or what?

 Three species in particular ended our day in style.  First of all the Whooper Swans.  Before we left six of them lifted and flew south calling loudly.  A seventh was late to lift and had to attempt to catch the party.  Second there was the loudly calling Cettis Warbler which we caught sight f briefly as it flew across the reedbeds.  Third was a female Marsh Harrier flying over the reeds at the northern end of the pool before eventually dropping into the reeds.  A Common Buzzard and the largest number of Coots I have seen in a long time were among other sightings.

Whooper Swans

 It was black dark when we arrived home well satisfied with our 7.5 hour day.  A rough count took me to 76 bird species for the day.  I may have missed one or two so near enough 80 species.  Great to feel so tired.