A quick walk on 21st February produced 7 Tufted Drakes(65) on the lake in the afternoon and a Brambling on the dam end in the morning.

Rather unapproachable Tufted Drakes

The patch walk on the last day of February was a damp one with a mixture of rain and sleet on a chilly wind.

It's still very quiet on the lake with the usual Great Crested Grebes, Mallards, Mandarins and Moorhens on the water and a couple of Canada Geese over.

A walk through the alder wood at the southern end was a bit more productive with a nice flock of Goldfinches plus 5 Lesser Redpolls and a single Siskin( Where have all the Siskins gone?).

I also found a mixed flock which contained Blue Tit, Great Tit,Treecreeper,Long tailed Tit,and Goldcrest.

Somewhere in the wood a Lesser Spot called and I flushed a Woodcock as I struggled through.

The finch flock was spooked by a Sparrowhawk as it shot through the trees.

The orchard contained a few Redwings and Fieldfares and small flock of Chaffinches.

On the Shirrenden side one of the local Buzzards was sitting in it's usual spot.

On the first of March a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker called and was seen at the southern end.

On the walk back up the hill two Bullfinches were in the hedgerow eating buds.

Male Bullfinch in the hedgerow.