Friday 11th.December 2009

To say this week has been full on would be an understatement . Monday was spent removing a Wasp nest from the loft and making good the resulting damage . Tuesday and Wednesday were spent hedgelaying up on the Greensand Ridge . Admittedly both Redwings and Fieldfares were heard and seen , the hedgelaying came first so the Winter Thrushes just got a cursory glance . Thursday was spent up on the Common , with chainsaw in hand for most of the day , wildlife was almost non existant .
By today , the list of chores needed to be done took most of the day , but I did hear and see Redwings and Fieldfares on the large Cotoneaster tree next door , that was until the neighbour further along started working in the garden , and they moved on . I did manage to get out for an hour , as the light was fading . All I could manage was a quick visit to Keston Ponds and Common . I took bread with me , but the 8 Mandarin present on the bottom pond were not interested . It was interesting though , to hear the calls of the other three resident males , as they returned from elsewhere , just as I left their roost .
The middle pond held a few Mallard type , and a pair of Canada Geese , who deigned to wake up from their snooze , to partake of the bread , unwanted by the Mandarins . Although no longer in sunlight , the Holly tree where I watched Redwings eagerly eating the ripe berries , no longer has any trace of red at all , and the same goes for many of the Hollies across the Common . Right in the middle , I did find one still with a plentiful supply of berries , but they too were being quickly devoured . The only other bird related interest found , were the feathers of a female Pheasant lying under a Scots Pine . They had been snipped off , rather than plucked , the sign of a Sparrowhawk kill . Not much fungi was found during my short visit , but I did manage to find a couple of specimens of Hygrocybe psittacina-Parrot Wax Cap , still in it's early form , being almost completely green .
Tomorrow it's back to hedgelaying , to hopefully finish the hedge near the junction of the M25 and M23 .