Atlas time again…
22nd November 2008, Saturday
…so we were over in TQ71 I, on the Beech Estate west of Battle. The estate went organic 5 years ago, and it shows, with a newly-ploughed field teeming with BH & Common Gulls, Rooks, Jackdaws, Woodpigeons, Stock Doves, Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Yellowhammers, and Blackbirds & Song Thrushes diving in & out of the dense hedgerows.
By contrast, the normally-busy Ashes Wood nearby was extraordinarily quiet, with tiny bird-calls hard to detect above the sound of footfalls, rustling leaves and wind in the treetops. If one were relying solely upon sight records, the total would have been about 2 Robins and a Blue Tit. Instead it was… well, not very good, though there were a few Siskins and at least one Crossbill.
The pond at Beech Mill has had its margins cleared and the water level raised so that it backs up into grassland. This should attract more water birds: this morning there 23 Mallard, 5 Teal and a pair of Mute Swans.
