New Year, New Diary

New Year's day, 1st January 2013, Royston, Herts.

Noon, and the sun is shining brightly right into our eyes as we walk south and up the hill above Briary Lane.  The hedge has been trimmed and, turning round, we have the best view ever of Ely Cathedral, 33 miles away.  A red kite flies over our heads and flaps towards the town, tail twisting as it goes.  In the hedge near Heath Farm are lots of twittering house sparrows, and up the lane chaffinches, blue tits and great tits.  Pausing at the right turn, we scan the fields and find pigeons and a magpie.  At the junction with the Icknield Way footpath we see a big flock of linnets on the overhead lines, and mixed flocks of finches fly round.  So many pigeons, so much work for the farmers, who are clearly leaving wide field margins to benefit the birds.  Heading north again toward the heath, and looking back at the very tall tree we recently passed, are pleased to see a great grey shrike sitting at the very top, and glad it is back in Hertfordshire again.  A buzzard glides past.  Two kestrels patrol the heath and must have been seen by many of the people out enjoying the sunshine.

2nd January 2013

This morning is dry but overcast with a flat low grey cloud, and no sign of Ely Cathedral from Briary Lane.  First we see the sparrows at the farm, then a buzzard flies over.  The path is very muddy & slippery from all the recent rain, and there are fewer people out today.  A mixed group of blue tits, chaffinches, yellowhammers and linnets feed in a tree over our heads.  Lots of golfers are out on the course this morning.  We walk a little way along the Icknield Way then return towards the heath where we see the kestrels again.  We take the top path on the right today and again watch the big mixed finch flocks.

Therfield Heath is always a joy, a breathing space next to the town, the industrial estate, the roads and the railway.  There's always some wildlife to see, and we plan to record as much of it as we can.