. . . and a Waxwing in a Pear Tree!

Firstly i hope everyone reading this has had a good Christmas day and will have a bird filled New Year.

As with previous posts I've not really been out much, but in the last week have seen a few nice birds from the comfort of the house. A week or so ago Gary and i heard i Firecrest calling further down Unthank Road, and since then I've been listening out to see if it came my way. On Monday (19th) getting back home from the last of the Christmas shopping and heard a bird in the trees opposite as i was unlocking. It didn't take to long to find the Firecrest in the bare trees before it flew of with some Blue Tits. Staring out into the back garden the same day a second 'garden tick' appeared, in the form of 2 Lapwing flying over, unusual for the city.

Putting the old wrapping paper out into the bins on Christmas morning i disturbed 3 birds from the fruit trees in our garden, i had earlier seem 7 Collarded Dove, lots of Blackbird and the usual fair of Tits and Finches but little else. 2 of the birds few out of site but one briefly returned to the top of the Pear tree, a Waxwing, not a new garden bird but a welcome little Christmas present.

Writing this on Boxing Day still in bed, from the bedroom window i have already seen Coal Tit, Grest Tit, Blue Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Rook, Goldfinch, Greenfinch,Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon, Starling and Blackbird. No sign of a Christmas Robin but 8 Redwing are currently perched in the neighbours silver birch. Maybe a New Years resolution should be to spend more time watching the garden?

Not Much Birding

The lead up to Christmas is always a bad time for birding as my rota gets shot to pieces and what free time i do have is spent shopping or similar, this year we also had a wedding to attend thrown in for good measure. The wedding was in Oxford, and i briefly considered spending the Sunday after the wedding down at Chew Valley, but with the weather uncertain we decided to spend the day in Oxford. This looked turned out to be a good choice as the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper by all accounts was elusive and eventually moved to a nearby site, and it was 60 miles further from home.

The trip was not however birdless from the Wedding Reception venue 'The Dog House' near Abingdon, i did manage to add a new bird to my 'pub list' in the shape of a Red Kite perched in a tree in the rear garden and then later 3 circling with a Buzzard from the Lounge window.