My first day of for the winter holidays (starting out at 10:00am), which I decided to spend by visiting Barnes Lane to catch up on the flocks of Skylarks and Linnets that I had seen on my previous visit.
Cloud 2/3
Wind 1-2/3 (westerly blowing snow into my face for the first half hour of my visit)
It was the first time this winter that it had snowed in our region and much of the ground was covered in a thin layer of snow, not to mention the frozen ground, although much of it had melted by my return at 12:00pm. This change in the weather must clearly result in a change in the bird life which I hoped I might encounter. Unsurprisingly, More Redwings were of note and were also more approachable as they seemed more concentrated on feeding. Past the A41 bridge along Barnes Lane the bird life realy kicked of with 100+ Skylarks taking to the sky and whirling around in flight for long periods at a time before choosing to land closer to Badgerdell (the paint-balling location) with a single Linnet amongst their ranks. 3 Lapwing were also resting on a bare patch on the stubble field to the right of Barnes Lane (a rarity in this part of the county). Also of note were 2 Yellowhammers, 1♂ Kestrel and a total of 25+ Fieldfare (with several more individuals seen on the return). Most unusual, being only my second record for this area was a probable flock of 17 GOLDEN PLOVER, in flight, near Badgerdell, they seemed to be heading in my direction (flying NE) but unfortunately I lost them as the large flock of Skylarks, Woodpigeons, and corvids flew infront and obstructed my view. In addition, 1 Red Kite was also over the farmland as were several Black-headed Gulls accompanied by occasional Common Gulls.
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