Last Sunday we held this year’s winter bird survey. The weather was a mild 10°C but very blustery which kept the birds sheltered out of the way. The total on the day was 40 species; far short of one year’s impressive 55 species.
Nothing of special note was seen. Tree Creepers and Bullfinches can be relied upon in the Marsh, in the old cricket field we had good views of a lovely group of colourful Yellow Hammers and it was unusual to hear a Tawny Owl calling in the middle of the day!
The poor state of hedgerows for wildlife was noticeable, as was the lack of farmland birds; perhaps because of the windy conditions.
Birdsong was heard again as we re-entered village showing that it is still necessary to continue to feed our garden birds at this time of year as there is little food for them in the countryside.
Watching three Buzzards over East Keswick
