Not so Sloe

I had a day offuv work today, I had two chores to do at Druridge, moving some poles around our ringing site and picking some sloes for the sloe gin. I had also had to do the WeBS count.

A great-crested grebe was the only interesting bird on the pool, the Budge fields still being thigh high vegetation.

A lot of birds have moved out since the weekend, but there are still birds arriving. I saw a few small groups of thrushes coming in over the dunes.

Skylarks were moving, mainly south, all morning. Impossible to count, maybe a hundred in a couple of hours, including one flock of 25. There are still good numbers of migrants in the bushes though, robins and goldcrests being the most obvious.

Last year we hardly saw a goldcrest on the coast so it is nice to see these cheerful little chappies flitting through the bushes.

A few blackcaps and chiffchaffs went onto the list as did a single garden warbler.

The most important thing though, I got the Sloes picked and they are now happily soaking in some gin, the book reckons you should keep it for 18 months. Two chances of that!