Redpolls and Bramblings

I went back to Bainton Pits this morning with Lesley and Henry. All the ponds except for a portion of the main pit remain frozen.

I was lucky enough to catch up again with the flock of redpoll that I found here on 5 January and which subsequently turned out to be mainly made up of Mealy redpoll - not our native lesser redpoll, but its cousin from Scandanavia. The male of this species is quite striking, with a pink-washed chest and overall 'frosted' look. He is also generally a bulky and conspicous bird, unlike the lesser which is pretty much a small, brown bird.

There were also three female goosander on the open water.

Later this afternoon, Henry and I walked up and down the Maxey Cut to the Green Bridge and back. The highlight was a highly mobile flock of about 70 brambling perching on the tops of the trees in the main pit area. This is the largest flock I have ever seen around here!