A bit of child minding this afternoon so a quick dash over the road from the daughters house to Horton Bank Top country park for a bit of tame duck pond birding, the sort I hate but thought it may be the only chance of getting out.
Just the usual pond stuff on the water with Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Canadas and Mallards along with 3 pair of Goosander and a Heron but no sign of the usual Little Grebe. A drive up and down Cooper Lane failed to find Gillians Waxwings from yesterday.
Home by 1600 hrs so time for a last minute check on Ogden to make sure no Whoopers had dropped in for the night. The water held the usual small gulls, 4 Canadas and Mallards with the Tufted duck moved on. 1630 hrs and just starting to think the Bramblings had gone when in they came amazingly from all 4 directions arriving at the same time, how do they do that ?
At least 25 Brambling and 20 ish Goldfinch starting off in the tall trees above the info centre then moving to the Nuthatch tree and car park tree before starting to drop down into the Rhododendrons to roost.
The end of 2016 and beginning of 2017 certainly has been the time of the Brambling for the area.
Long Tailed Tits are up to 7 around the info centre feeders now but the Nuthatches seemed to have moved back into the wood.
BS