Pegsdon Hills

We tried to find the Ring Ouzel that had been reported the previous morning but failed to do so. We did however have good views of a Treecreeper (first for this year), Green Woodpecker, Buzzard, Skylarks and at least 50 Fieldfare.

Fieldfare

Buzzard

We visited Chicksands Wood in the afternoon and had great views of a Treecreeper and Buzzard.

St Ippollitts

We had a great walk to St Ippollitts and back, seeing a good number of birds. The best birds were two Stock Doves (first for the year), about five Meadow Pipits (first for the year), Goldcrest, two Mistle Thrush, two Sparrowhawk, at least five Skylarks and a flock of Redwing over. Everything was either too quick or far away for a photo, apart from the three Alpaca in the field near our house.

I saw a Grey Wagtail in Hitchin town centre for the first time this year on the 28th, and my dad saw three later that day.

Whitstable

Turnstones

Kelshall - Barn Owl

On our way home from Thetford we drove around the lanes between Kelshall and Wallington. We saw a few Red-legged Partridges (our first of the year) and Kestrels but a Barn Owl stole the show, flying over the road and fields in front of us before flying towards us and past the car at a distance of about five metres away! What a day!

Thetford - Otters

On one side of the river was the rarest bird we'd ever seen, and on the other side were two otters, the first we'd ever seen. Not a bad visit. One otter was sleeping on the opposite side of the bank and the other was swimming downstream, constantly switching between land and water. Along with several other photographers, we followed the otter for about a mile, running to make up ground and find a good position before the otter came up again. At times the otter seemed as intrigued by us as we were with him! After eventually losing him, we then walked back to the other otter to find that it had taken to the water. This otter proved to be easier to photograph and I got my best photos at this point. Absolutely incredible.

Egyptian Goose

Thetford - Black-bellied Dipper

After several weeks of desperately wanting to get to Thetford to see the constantly reported Black-bellied Dipper, we were finally able to today. Black-bellied Dippers usually migrate from northern Scandanavia to Finland, Sweden and Germany in the winter, but occasionally occur in Britain. The bird didn't disappoint. I sat photographing the bird from the other side of the river, not bothering it in the slightest. It even began singing quietly to itself at one point! Brilliant bird.

Film - apologies for the poor quality of the upload. The actual video is very clear.

Knebworth

Probably the best walk we've ever had at Knebworth. It felt like Spring when the sun came out for about half an hour.

Yellowhammer, Linnet (first of the year), Skylark, Nuthatch, Red Kite, Buzzard, Jay and Green Woodpecker (first of the year).

Sika Deer