WINTER MIGRANTS.

Little Egret has been  a frequent winter visitor to the valley for several years now and it was pleasing to receive a report of one locally last week. Even more pleasing to see through my bedroom window as I lay drinking my morning cup of tea was the sight of two Little Egrets leaving the confers in the Manor house grounds. They have roosted there regularly in the past so we can expect them to be  seen  for the next two or three months. Their usual feeding grounds are the old water meadows upstream and downstream of the village.

I still haven't seen any of the winter thrush family visitors, Fieldfare and Redwing. It has been a very mild winter so far though so we may have to wait for colder weather to drive tham south. Golden Plover and Lapwings  are appearing intermittently in the area to the north of Maiden Castle but are illusive. My only sighting of the Golden Plovers was of about 500 flying over the Dorchester bypass.

Garden birds have included a male Blackcap. This used to be just a summer visiitor, but now is becoming increasingly common as one of our own birds overwintering here. Also a solitory Chaffinch, once very common but now seen only occasionally.
  r