It feels like we have woken up to mid-winter today, a sudden gloom in the atmosphere. With wind predicted up to 60mph gusts were in for a breezy one today, great for getting out and blowing the cobwebs away. As Gwyneth and I started our walk 3 Goldfinches flew overhead, a lovely tune for the morning and a beautiful sight. Little did we know how magical the rest of our walk was to become. A charm of Goldfinches would be a massive understatement. It was Goldfinch galore, with multiple charms of 30+ in each group flying all over for most of our walk, ending in 60+ flying in to perch on an Ash tree as we ended the walk at the Learning Centre. Quite beautiful!
In Skipworth meadow 50 or so Corvids covered the recently grazed field, a mix of Jackdaw, Crow and Rooks. Watching the activity, we spotted a Magpie, a Jay, a male Pheasant, a female pheasant and 2 juveniles, all sharing the same meadow and searching for tasty grubs.
Calls of a Wren drew us to the large Copse, a quiet, still, area of calm but the distant whistle of wind catching the tops of the Pines and Holm Oaks above. Exploring the ground cover in Saxon, a lovely scattering of Ox-eye Daisy, Knapweed, Dandelion and Yarrow brought a welcome splash of colour to the lush green grasses. The bright orange berries of the Stinking Iris stood out, while Selfheal and Wild Thyme were found within the short grasses. Bryony Berries were wrapped in a spiral around a Holm Oak and Winter Heliotrope covered the small Copse floor.
Hairy Stereum was found on log edging and Wax-cap, Field Mushroom and Agaricus were found within the meadows. Near the Lighthouse White-lipped, Brown-lipped, Garden and Plaited Door Snails were found. After a blustery walk down the gully where Gwyneth said it felt like she was being blown around like a ragdoll, we ended our walk through the woods finding a group of Chaffinch sat within a Hawthorn tree and one of the many groups of Goldfinch in the nearby Ash tree.