Woodlarks revisited

Tuesday 2nd February

Any hope that we might beat the 20 Woodlarks recorded during our wintering bird survey near Hartfield on 18th January were soon dashed when it became apparent that there had been a clear out of farmland birds since our last visit with totals of just 5 Skylarks, 40 Chaffinches, 6 Linnets and 2 Yellowhammers in the same area as before. Of Woodlarks there was no sign at first but we eventually found a single bird in full song atop a large oak tree in the same field where the flock had been a couple of weeks ago, surely one of the finest songs of any British bird. With the recent settled weather, perhaps the Woodlarks have made an early return to the nearby heathlands of Ashdown Forest where they breed?



Other signs of spring on this beautiful sunny morning included Buzzards displaying, Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming and Skylark, Song Thrush and Chaffinch in song. Also see were a pair of Tufted Duck on a small farm pond, a pair of Mandarins, probably 3 different Red Kites, 2 Kestrels, a party of 7 Mistle Thrushes, a handful of Redwings and a Grey Wagtail.




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