Soil Hill Area

The usual walk up to and around Soil Hill this morning.

Bright but quite cool on a very, very boggy Soil Hill.

Builders were working on a field wall near Cloth Hill Farms as D.S. pulled up in her car. 

I hope that she located the Black Redstart.

After a short scan of the farm I carried on along Percy Rd, assuming that the builders would have disturbed the bird, and expecting a phone call from the garage at any time with news about my car.

Birds:-

The usual few birds moving about Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Coal Tit and Chaffinch for definite.

A nice surprise was a Snipe that flushed as I went up Soil Hill main track, calling and leaving high north.

Not a lot seen from the hill, 2 Wren and a single Common Gull in flight with nothing on NK pond or  in the Shay fields.

Coming back down the track an  optimistic scan towards Cloth Hill Farm found the Black Redstart on a wall.

It seems unfazed by the wall building going on.

Nearby another bird was on a wall that is possibly a Wheatear but the photo at this distance is poor.

Lower down the track a Wheatear was feeding in the newly mown reservoir field.

The 1st photo of this Wheatear includes another gate crasher that might just be a Snipe? But I did not see the bird at the time.

2 Raven were on the Comms. Mast.

A vey enjoyable hour or so.

Black Redstart in the distance

Possible distant Wheatear

Wheatear on wall right.

Gate Crasher top left

??