With temperatures hovering just above 0 degrees and a light covering of snow, I decided to spend a couple of hours at Stanton park where a number of woodland species of birds can be often found. It was a sunny afternoon, and after carefully crossing the icy carpark, I headed for one of the seating areas where a bird table will often attracts small birds. I tipped out some peanuts and seeds on the top and placed a snow covered log nearby, hoping that the birds would use this as a perch.
The seats were still snow covered so I went behind them and stood against a tree, hoping that would help disguise me, particularly as I rather hoped a jay would come and feed on the peanuts. With the trees bare of leaves, it was fairly easy to notice if a jay was about and it wasn't long before I saw a shape the familiar pinks, blues and whites fly into a tree some distance away, but from where I could see that it was eying up the bird table. I remained still, waiting for the jay to descend, which it did, slowly, at intervals getting nearer and nearer, until it was close enough to fly to the ground and snatch a peanut which it flew off with. It then reappeared later and spent a few seconds at the bird table, before flying off at the approach of some people with a dog.
Other species present included blue tits, robins, dunnocks, blackbird, and coal tits and the usual few squirrels.
I was also hoping to see a marsh tit and nuthatch but without seeing either here, I re-located to another feeding table which had a long log next to it, after placing more food there, I stood back amongst the trees to wait. It was a good move as almost immediately I was soon rewarded by both species which kept returning to the log to feed.
I walked around the lake but it was frozen in the centre, and all I saw was a couple of mute swans with their cygnet, a flock of black headed gulls standing on the ice, and a group of mallard ducks at the edge.
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| dunnock |
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