Clifton, 8th April

After coming back from leeds, i went for a walk on thursday afternoon in the sun at clifton. There wasn't a huge amount of birds around today, although the usual common birds were singing away in the woods.

On the weir field, the most noticable birds were the skylarks that were singing loudly. there were a good number of them, so hopefully they'll be boosting their numbers, securing a future for this threatened farmland bird! Also displaying were some Lapwing which are also nationally threatened. I counted around ten, although there could have been more laying low in the field. A couple of Grey Heron were seen flying over as well as a few geese. Also of note was a lot of Peacock Butterflies which were obviously enjoying the warm sunshine. There were plenty of wildlflowers popping up around the field too. An unidentified bird was also seen sitting on a small mound in the field, but it flew away as i got closer, it may have been my first Wheatear of the year, but i couldn't confirm it, so i'll have to wait!

Nothing much was seen on the way to clifton wood, although there were a couple of Wren around the yellowgate pond, and a male Pheasant was seen hiding in the verge. I looked over to the barn owl and little owl roosts, but couldnt see anything.

In Clifton wood, there were lots more birds singing, including a few i couldn't confidently ID, but there were a number of Chiffchaff singing, and my first Coal Tit of the area was also seen feeding in the trees.

Holme pit was reasonably quiet, with the usual mix of common waterfowl. A friendly Mallard paid us a visit as we sat by the water, allowing me to get some reasonable shots, and the was a territorial Mute Swan, bullying a male Canada Goose. In the reeds on an island there was the goose's mate, sitting on a nest.

While sitting by the lake, there was a lot of action in the skys. A male Kestrel flew overhead, and over the woods a couple of Buzzard were gliding on the thermals. These birds were showing a lot, with one being mobbed for some time by a group of Carrion crows, but he managed to hold his ground. Out of nowhere, there was some sudden activity further down the treeline, as a Sparrowhawk gave chase to an unfortunate pigeon, the pigeon escaped with its life, and as the hawk flew above the trees, it got mobbed by a Buzzard and had to make a hasty retreat. Also heard were a couple of Green Woodpecker calling from the trees.