The
Red-tailed Wheatear is still present on the boulders behind the pond and looks
like it may remain for some time. I have still not managed to get any proper
photographs of the bird as I always see it in the late evening after work and
the light is already poor. As a result the photos below were taken with a high
ISO and are not as good as they could have been. Hopefully this weekend I will
be able to take some better photos in better light if I can find the bird
again. Other passerines are not that common but a few Common Chiffchaffs, a
Lesser Whitethroat and several Daurian Shrikes have been around. Other birds of
note have been three Tawny Pipits in the spray fields that do an excellent job
of hiding in the grass and keeping themselves well hidden and a few Eurasian
Skylarks remain from the small flock I found a few days before. Other winter
visitors seen include a few Water Pipits and several White Wagtails including
some males still in full breeding plumage. Several Rose-ringed Parakeets have
been seen in the late evening as whilst I have been watching the girls playing
football in the main camp. These birds very rarely come to the Hills area so I
do not often see them and have never managed to photograph the species in the
camp even though they are common in the main camp, but this is not part of my
‘patch’ for birding. Also seen were two Western Marsh Harriers over the spray
fields an adult male and a female.
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| Red-tailed Wheatear |
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| Red-tailed Wheatear |
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| Daurian Shrike |
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| Western Marsh Harrier - female |
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| Western Marsh Harrier - male |