During a sunny windless interlude it was nice to be able to stand for half an hour along the boardwalk from Holyland Wood car-park just watching small parties of birds that were moving through the trees in search of food. A small flock of c. 20 goldfinches fed on alder seeds in the canopy and below them a loose flock of titmice (blue, great, marsh, coal and long-tailed) moved through the area.
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| This marsh tit, like the other titmice, was mainly feeding on tree seeds |
With them were at least
3 firecrests (one just about possible for a record shot photo), a few goldcrests and a
chiffchaff that gave frustratingly brief and mainly back/rear views only. Its underparts were decidedly dull buffish-white, without any obvious traces of yellow streaking at all. Its under-tail covers (shown in the only photos I could get) looked to be a warm buffish colour - typical of the underparts in general really. It and the firecrests remained silent as they looked for small insects in the elms and willows.
It's surprising what you can see by just standing quietly, waiting, watching and listening.
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| Under-tail coverts and lower belly were quite a warm buffish-white - no yellow at all |
