My trail around Stratton Wood
Will it or won't it rain!
Stratton Wood owned by the Woodland Trust
Well I was here so I decided to give Benji a good a good walk and hopefully there would be something of interest to see. A Blackbird called and then a Robin and as carried along the path I could here a Mistle Thrush calling to my left. In the hedgerow a pair of Bullfinches were feeding on the hawthorns and as soon as they saw me they were gone. As the path bends to the right I decided to take the extremely muddy path to my right which takes you behind the bungalows and up towards Kingsdown Lane. It opens out behind the bungalows and in the distance I could see and hear 4 Fieldfare heading towards Stanton Park. Also along here were quite a few Magpies that seemed to be enjoying the gusty conditions.
There's a bench on your right and behind it someone has adorned a few trees with Christmas decorations, which was a bit bizarre!
Christmas has arrived at Stratton Wood
The one thing that was noticeable, was the number of Chaffinches around. No matter where I was there were always one or two calling in flight above me. The same could be said of the Blue Tit, along the tracks it always seemed to Blue Tits calling from the hedgerows. Once I reached Kingsdown Lane, the trail takes you northwest and then to a corner of the wood where you end up walking southwest. Eventually you would end up on the A419, but my walk wasn't taking me there just yet and a few metres along I took a path that opens out into the meadow.
The hedgerow alongside the meadow
Straight away I could see a Buzzard on the ground and he saw me instantly. I stopped and he took off and flew to an Oak tree just a few feet away from where he had been feeding. I managed a couple of photos, but a pair of Kestrels flew in and he didn't seem to want to hang about and flew off towards Blunsdon. Along the path next to the hedgerow I could see a few birds flitting about and with my binoculars I could make out Redwings, Blackbirds, Chaffinches and a Yellowhammer feeding on the ground. Unfortunately my walk was on their path, which was a shame, but even though I put them up they all came back and landed behind me. In total there were 18 Redwing, 8 Blackbirds, 6 Chaffinches plus the Yellowhammer.
Buzzard
Kestrel
Blackbird, Redwings and Chaffinch
My trail was getting muddier and muddier, but fortunately I knew that once I was pass the wood on the other side of the meadow, the paths are a lot firmer. Following the trail you eventually come into another section of the wood that is very close to the lay-by on the southbound carriageway of the A419. Its also where the pylons loom above you. Back in October I came across the fungi Rosy Bonnet, Mycena rosea. Two months on and it's still flourishing!
Rosy Bonnet, Mycena rosea
Rosy Bonnet, Mycena rosea
At this point the path runs parallel with A419 in a southeasterly direction and at the end you meet the Highworth road and the car park. There wasn't much along this stretch that is until I got the corner of the wood by the bridge. There had been a few mixed flocks of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests, but in this party there was a Marsh Tit calling. And then if that wasn't enough I caught a glimpse of a Treecreeper in amongst them.
Goldcrest
Male Great Tit
Back at the car park I interrupted another foraging party of Tits which had two Dunnock, 3 Bullfinches and 2 Blackbirds with them. Now that is a mixed flock.
Female Bullfinch
So what I thought might be a quick walk because of the imminent rain turned out to be quite a long and very rewarding one. In total I recorded 29 species. 1 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, 20 Blackbird, 4 Fieldfare, 28 Redwing, 6 Song Thrush, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, 1 Marsh Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Treecreeper, Wren, 1 Jay, 18+ Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 50+ Chaffinch, Goldfinch, 6 Bullfinch, and 1 Yellowhammer. Also 3 Grey Squirrels and a few Rosy Bonnet, Mycena rosea.