Bird of Prey and Thrush Day

After throwing up for half the night a day off school meant that today I could do some more garden birding, which after the previous weeks sightings I was very optimistic for! All the sightings were between 12:30 and 15:30.

The local female Kestrel was hunting over the fields but wasn't having much luck as it was being mobbed constantly by Black Headed Gulls. It showed well for the duration of my watch which is unusual as it usually hunts out of view from time to time. Another resident and almost daily bird of prey that showed well today was Sparrowhawk with the male hunting around the gardens for 10 minutes or so. The picture below was taken a few months back I've just not had chance to upload it yet so thought this would be a good opportunity. However a far more unusual sight was a Buzzard which was hunting over Amounderness Way (A 565). I see them over the river Wyre every month or so however it is only the third or fourth time that I have seen one over the fields itself. It seemed to give the local birds quite a shock as well since it was being mobbed by 12 Jackdaws, determined to see it off their patch. 3 Bird of Species in a day is good for my house but doesn't beat the 4 on 14th September 2008 when I saw my first ever Honey Buzzard as well as Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk!

The other obvious feature of the day was plenty of winter thrushes around. Some obvious migrating birds were:

10 Fieldfare North-West at 13:05

3 Redwing North-West at 13:15

25-30 Fieldfare North-West at 14:00

2 Redwings high South at 14:10

Apart from these were a few local birds, a flock of 5 Fieldfare that have been around for a few day and more spectacularly a flock of 90-100 Fieldfare which were slowly moving their way around the fields, the largest single flock I have seen from my house.

Other birds of interest today include a Curlew in the field and a Cormorant over.