Birding - Greenland's Farm

We started well with Liz calling Osprey over Brand's Bay, though I have to admit that I didn't hear this first call but managed to hear the second and watched it with the others as it crossed towards Goathorn and disappeared into the tree line. Our second bird was a delightful little Coal Tit which performed really well though briefly.  We headed off up the track towards what is becoming a very well known field as Hoopoe, Wryneck and more recently Red-backed shrike have been found in.  As we continued we checked off many of the usual commoner species.  As we approached the 'rarity field' we heard Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers and later saw both species and a Yellow Wagtail flew over.  We then had a Whinchat top of the hedge ahead and then one was picked up in the scrub just a few metres away and just for comparison a Stonechat further to the right.

Whinchat - Greenlands Farm © Nick Hull

As for the rarity field we found a small group of Yellow Wagtails accompanying Red Dexter cattle. We also had a distant Mediterranean Gull flying west along the edge of the harbour.  But other than a few Siskin going over the field it didn't produce much for us. As we moved on Joe and one or two others picked up movement in a small bush, it turned out that there was more than just one species  in this little bush, the first was a Whitethroat, then two Chiffchaff a Robin and a Wren.  Then a flight of 30 Siskin went over  this turned out to be the first of a few flocks seen moving probably amounting to 100-150 birds.

We came a cross a few autumn fungi with a number of very fresh Parasol Mushroom and our first Fly Agaric.  We also came across a robin's pincushion which develops after the gall wasp Diplolepis rosae has laid it's eggs in the rose bud in spring.

Robin's Pincushion Gall - Greenlans track © Nick Hull

We had a brief walk through the wood and picked up Treecreeper, Goldcrest and a immature Buzzard one of two that were calling obviously not quite used to being out in the big world on their own.  We walked out on the bridleway across towards the Rempstone Heath and it was here we fell into a small feeding flock of warblers.  It turned out it was mainly Blackcaps with the odd Chichchaff amongst them. Though a Spotted Flycatcher did appear from nowhere for a brief spell and promptly disappeared as quick as it appeared.  Instead of heading across the heath I decided to cross the field to the scrub border that led back towards the main track.  This paid off as we reached the rise at the edge of the field we could view all around and Liz's eagle eye found the Osprey sat at the top of a dead pine at the edge of Rempstone Forest and gave good scope views.  Though too far to good digiscoping though I've included the shot below.

Distant Osprey viewed from Greenlands Farm.

Walking back to the main track we had a few Meadow Pipits, a couple of Stonechat and a very nice Dartford Warbler and more Chiffchaff.  When looking for a bird sat a top of a bush that one of the group had seen, a small group of Great Crested Grebe were found resting in the harbour though the bird at the top of the bush disapeared. Our walk back to the cars was fairly uneventful other than  another look at the Yellow Wagtails as they were much closer than before, until they moved off with the cattle into another field.