Friday 2nd January 2015

A catch up on a few recent outings .
A trip to Kelsey Park in Beckenham found a handful of Redwings feeding on Holly berries , but definitely not in the mood to be photographed . Most of the lake was frozen over , but The Beck ,

which flows into the lake remained free of ice and most species were concentrated there , including at

least 18 Mandarin . The females looking very smart in their new livery , but as usual , the more

numerous males were not to be outdone for colour . It wasn't even New Year but the Grey Heron

were already taking possession of several of the nests on the island heronry .
A very cold look around Hayes Farm found the Trout Fishery awash with waterfowl due to a JCB working on the far bank , but of the 100+ birds on the water , nothing better than a pair of Little Grebe . As I left the fishery , the Common Buzzard flew from the woods behind , chased by the local

Corvids , eventually landing in one of the large Oaks . The Corvids didn't give up though , taking it in

turn to buzz the Buzzard , until once again it took flight , and last seen disappearing over the athletics track in Norman Park .
Another cold visit was to Bough Beech Reservoir , which is already almost full , which means that the water is already into the surrounding woods , giving plenty of hiding places for birds . The notice board showed 34 Goosander seen at dusk a couple of days earlier , all I could manage was a single redhead , well out in the main reservoir . A look at the feeders in the orchard produced Nuthatch and GSWoodpecker , but once again no hoped for Brambling , or Fieldfare or Redwing either . On the way back home , a look around Keston Church car park produced it's usual early flowers , Winter

Heliotrope / Petasites fragrans , a member of the Daisy family , with 25+ flower spikes found . Another site , usually good for Winter visitors , also failed to produce .
Whilst watching 2 Fieldfare and 5/6 Redwing , feeding on next door's Cotoneaster berries , a flock of 10/12 , the most I have seen locally for some

time , RRParakeets descended on the bush , dispersing all other feeders .Four was the most I managed to get in any one shot , as when others arrived some got moved on , but some just sat

quietly gorging on the ripened berries .The shots were taken from the back bedroom window , too far off to get any decent shots of the Winter Thrushes .

This morning , I managed to secrete myself amongst the greenery in the garden , and finally managed a few .

Mind you , today was probably my last chance , as the berries are disappearing at a fantastic rate .