Snow Redwing or Fieldfare at Warley

I managed to get over to Warley Place this morning at 8.45am. Ideally i was hoping to get a year tick with Firecrests and a patch tick with a Fieldfare.

However after the last couple of days seeing them everywhere you looked in and around Hornchurch / Emmerson Park / Haynes Park (i sat in the car yesterday at 3pm next to a berry covered bush a pavements width away watching c35 Feildfare just before picking the kids up) i failed to see one Redwing or Fieldfare at Warley with only a handfull on the way through Harold Wood.

The biggest mixed group we had in the garden was about c200 birds yesterday and my dad had c60 Redwing in his garden in Harold Wood.

As for Warley today, none.

It turned out to be a mini raptor patch ticking day with Buzzard over the car park heading in a Folkes Wood direction mobbed all the way by Carrion Crow x3 and Magpie x2.

courtesy of www.stephenburch.com

Numerous mixed Tits and Nuthatch x2 in the car park as well.

The first pond didnt hold much, the water was frozen as expected but the feeders were not being used and the Moorhen's usually to be found here were not to be seen.

By the slope over looking the 2nd pond a Sparrow Hawk chased a male Blackbird but it gave up rather quickly.

Both Raptors being patch ticks for Warley taking the list to 33