It was a good birding day today, quite unexpectedly. During the lockdown, we're still trying to get some fresh air and exercise, and as it wasn't raining today, we decided to go out for a short walk. I had suggested going back to St George's Square as I knew my husband would enjoy the sound of all the birds singing and chirping, so that's where we went. Before we even got there, we encountered a kestrel on the way over, hovering above some shrubbery in a garden and then swooping down for the kill. She got her prey, I'm happy to report! But as you know, if you have been following my bird blog, that was not a new scene for me as I had seen one when I was still in self-isolation after arriving to the UK, one appearing on the balcony across from our place, another female with a mouse as well.
When we got to the park, there weren't as many birds, but we did hear some robins. The park was a bit busier in terms of activities people were doing. When I was there Friday, there were a few people out for a stroll walking around or just sitting on some of the benches, but today, there were little kids out kicking a soccer ball around, so it was a little less conducive for birdwatching as I find birds tend to stay away from flying soccer balls and the like! And it was also much colder today, so they probably wanted to stay huddled inside their nests or birdhouses, wherever those are. However, I noticed something a little larger in a tree, something that wasn't dark enough to be a blackbird but was about the same size. Suddenly I noticed it fly to the ground and realised there was a small flock of them, whatever they were. I took as many photos as I could, and then from somewhere, a weird, loud sound broke out and scared them all away. I don't know what that was or exactly where it came from, but right after, a kid with his dad came with his soccer ball, so I knew that the birds weren't going to be back any time soon. I couldn't get a good photo of all of them, but this was the only half decent photo I was able to get, given that they didn't stay still for too long and also were in poor lighting to begin with. When I got home, I popped the photo into the Merlin app and learned that this is another type of thrush known as a redwing. I was pretty excited because it was a new bird for me--a lifer! Knowing that there were thrushes there at one time, I intend to go back and hope to see more on a quieter day during the week when kids are at school.
Comments