After the excitement of seeing the White-tailed Eagle in Hampshire yesterday, there was another fillip to my birding week this morning when Graham James emailed me to let me know of a first-winter White-fronted Goose with a flock of Greylag Geese in a field south of Spynes Mere. The Holmethorpe patch had also produced the first migrant Chiffchaff of the spring so far, as well as a Red Kite flying north over the area at about 9.00am.
I couldn't get over to see the White-fronted Goose until mid-afternoon, but he wasn't hard to find, being darker and noticeably smaller than the Greylags, with the distinctive white blaze at the base of its bill.
An excellent addition to the Holmethorpe list - Graham reckons this bird has been in the area for a few days. Another addition to my own personal Surrey and Holmethorpe year lists was a Green Sandpiper probing the edge of the water on Mercers West.
On a brief tour of the area I picked up four Goldcrests but still haven't found a Yellowhammer - only a question of time though. The winter bird I hope to pick up tomorrow (if I get up early enough) is Jack Snipe. The Moors wetland area is the place to find them, and Little Egret, with three seen at the Moors by Kevin 'Kojak' Eason and David 'Devilbirder' Campbell this afternoon.
With the first spring migrants arriving on British soil local patch listers will be hoping to be the first to see a Wheatear at Holmethorpe in the next few days - Beddington had their first touch down today. Little Ringed Plover and Sand Martin are other early Holmethorpe migrants to keep an eye out for.
No comments:
Post a Comment