Eyeworth - 15th February

The weather was cloudy and cool. Highlights were Mandarin Ducks and Marsh Tits.

We looked at Eyeworth Pond firstly and saw plenty of Mallard, a few Coot and Moorhen, a pair of Gadwall and 4 Mandarin Ducks. Derek had crumbled a stale Scone onto a wooden barrier and many birds were coming down to it. We saw Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit and Marsh Tit as well as Robin and many Chaffinches. It was great to get good views of all of these, to compare the Blue and Great Tit and to see Marsh Tits so well.
As we walked through the woods it was very quiet. Birds would have been much more active in the sunny weather of the last few days, but today’s cool and cloudy weather has quietened everything down. We heard a couple of Bullfinch as we entered the woods, but couldn’t see them. We did see quite a few Fallow Deer making off as we approached and a few birds. Every now and then we came across small flocks of tits with mostly Long-tailed, Blue and Marsh Tit. At one point Chris found a Nuthatch and a Treecreeper and we saw a couple more of each of these. An ivy covered tree had a couple of Goldcrest feeding in it and one area of the woods had several Redwing in the tops of the trees. Towards the end of the walk we had a great view of a Song Thrush, saw a couple of Collared Doves and one person saw a Goldfinch. It was a quiet, but lovely walk in these ancient woodlands.
Simon Curson