West Hartford at day break was quite impressive in terms of the aesthetics, but the birds were predictable -
gulls,
Lapwings and
Teal on the iced-up larger flash, nothing at all on the smaller one, and no owls. A large flock of
Lapwings was way off west, probably over 100, and along the burn on the 'front nine', a pair of
Mistle Thrushes and a flock of mainly
Siskin and
Goldfinch numbered nearer 40, which made quite a din. I haven't seen any Kingfishers for a fortnight.
Arcot mid-morning was equally frozen and uninspiring;
BHG,
CG,
HG,
Carrion Crow, calling
Jay, one
Goosander (F) sleeping on the west bank, two feeding
Grey Herons, several
Mallards but yesterday's Wigeon and Gadwall were not to be seen. En route, a single
LBBG was at the top of the lamp-post in the middle of the Barnes Park access roundabout (66).
Plessey was consistent for the day - deathly. I never ventured near the farm in case I triggered the Gestapo into action. Walked west along the
track between Aesica and MSD but all that was there was a startled
Buzzard, a
Kestrel and a
Great Tit. And just south of the track, on the northbound offside lane of the main road was a dead Grey Heron. Gutted.
Rain and the ornthological plateau suggested my time should be better spent on chores, so that's what I did.
Regular readers may recall this
post, and one of the highlights of an afternoon in was watching Vera. The worst Geordie accent ever (it reminded me of
this every time Brenda Blethyn opened her mouth).
