With over 600 being seen around the country,
including several inland, there really must be a Yellow-browed Warbler somewhere
in the Chiltern Hill escarpment. With this in mind, I did another full day's
birding in the area, but to no avail....
Mike Wallen had seen a MARSH HARRIER shortly
after dawn but in the three hour stint I did at IVINGHOE HILLS, the highlight
was a fall of RING OUZEL. Five in total, and all feeding in the same Whitebeam
at the far end of Inkombe Hole. Francis and Tony Hukin twitched them but saw
them just briefly, seemingly leaving to the West.......
Otherwise, at least 40 REDWINGS in Top
Scrub/Inkombe, at least 18 CONTINENTAL SONG THRUSHES, 5 Mistle Thrushes, 8
Common Blackbird, a light Chaffinch passage, 70 Goldfinch (on Steps Hill), 21
Skylark, 3 Jays, Great Spotted Woodpecker (Inkombe) and the 7 COMMON STONECHATS
still, with 4 on Steps Hill and the 3 at the Sheep Pens. Top Scrub also held up
to 6 Bullfinch, a Marsh Tit, 7 Blue Tits, Green Woodpecker and 5 Robins, while
Linnet and 2 Yellowhammer were by Steps and the recently ploughed field at the
bottom of the slope held 260 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 42 Carrion Crow, 38
Jackdaw and a single Rook.
I did the full circuit of COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT.
Extensive work on the marsh meant that birds there were few & far between
but on the main lake, waterbirds consisted of just 2 Mute Swan, 4 Eurasian
Wigeon, 26 Tufted Duck, 5 Northern Pochard, 27 Coot and 70 Lesser Black-backed
Gulls. On the outskirts, 4 Jay, Green Woodpecker, 7 Linnet, 8 Meadow Pipit, 2
Kestrel and 5 COMMON STONECHAT in the weedy field in the NW corner.
No change at WILSTONE RESERVOIR with just the 3
GARGANEY and a Common Sandpiper.
Most unexpected was a flock of 8 RING-NECKED
PARAKEETS in RINGSHALL VILLAGE, feeding on Apple trees in the front garden of
one house. I have never seen them here before.
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