Langdyke Christmas

The Christmas break gives me the chance to be out and about most days - and as ever there is plenty to report out in our countryside.

The starling flock at Maxey Pits continues to entertain and I have seen several Langdyke members watching its acrobatic displays over the last few days. The flock on the 24th was notable for its brevity - the birds quickly disappeared into the roost rather than wheeling around above the reed bed, following the dramatic arrival of a peregrine falcon which took several dives at the main flock, forcing them into an ever tighter (and therefore darker) bunch of birds. With the sparrowhawks still around as well, you can understand why the starlings decided to rush for cover. A stooping peregrine is an impressive sight, unless you happen to be the prey!

Maxey also turned up two goosander on 24th and four on the 28th December - 2 males and 2 females - and a female bullfinch. And most remarkably a single little egret flew across the Helpston road as I drove back to the village.

The Langdyke workparty on the 27th attracted 13 willing volunteers and we had an energetic time cutting down willow and thrashing down bramble. Iain Stowe performed wonders with his strimmer and cut down great swathes of bramble to clear a path round the north-west corner of the quarry. A couple of bonfires lit up the sky at the end of the afternoon. We were also joined on the top field by both a barn owl and a couple of little owls as we tried unsuccessfully to round up the Hebrideans in the dusk. (As ever with this particularl flock of 12, they simply weren't having it and jumped through our human cordon - yes, Hebrideans can certainly jump!)

A stroll across to College Cottages to the east of Helpston on 27th turned up three tree sparrow and a flock of about 70 fieldfare as well as a brown hare, racing across the fields.

Happy Christmas!