A little local twitching

With nice weather forecast and some free time, I decided to do a Hertfordshire day and mop up a few local year ticks. I really should have gone off to Norfolk where more quality birds were on offer but the thought of a 4am alarm didn't seem that attractive. So, I hatched a plan and set off just before 7 for the furthest part of the route. This was to Wallington near Baldock for the corn buntings which have a  stronghold in the fields there.

It was a bit bleak when I arrived, the sun barely breaking though the morning clag. Even the local buzzards didn't seem to want to fly around and were hopping around more like secretary birds searching for worms!

There are three pull-offs where you can normally find the corn buntings and at the middle one there were 3 or 4 males singing away, their "jangling coins" adding a touch of Spring to the morning.

They are a medium-sized bird with a very stout beak and fortunately do like to sit out in the open when declaring their presence. The sun was now just starting to break through but I had a list to get through so I left them to it and drove the short distance to my next step, Fairlands Lake in Stevenage. A caspian gull has made this its winter home for the last few years and is normally pretty reliable. Today though I couldn't find it, at least not convincingly, amongst all the black-headed and only a very few larger gulls.

The local grebes were busy catching their breakfast though.

I gave up on the hope of the caspian gull and drove to Bramfield churchyard, a known local spot for overwintering hawfinches. By now it was a lovely if slightly chilly day and a flock of small birds were feeding in the yew trees. I immediately got onto a really smart male brambling in with the chaffinches. 

It didn't hang around though and flew off toward the village. For half an hour I wandered the churchyard, spotting smaller finches and redwings feeding on the ground. I thought I could hear the hawfinches calling but couldn't see them. Finally I spied two large finches with enormous nut-cracking beaks on top of the trees.

They seemed to be liking the sunshine but remained very distant. Their beaks are spectacular and can crack very large nuts. After a few minutes they followed the brambling and flew off towards the village. 

For my last stop I went to Lemsford Springs, a small HMWT reserve near St. Albans. It is famous for its population of green sandpipers which number over a dozen and are part of a ringing programme. One is the oldest known green sandpiper at over 14 years old! Once I worked out how to get in, I discovered a beautiful little oasis, with lots of birds and very few people. There are two hides overlooking the clear stream which was a magnet for the green sandpipers,

little egrets,

and a lone grey wagtail.

I had hoped to find the jack snipe which had been spotted recently but there was no sign. Still, a good day, with 4 year ticks and some quality birds.