Canons Farm and Banstead Woods!

Today I took the short trip to Canons Farm and Banstead Woods to put some new kit to the test, The Nikon D7100 and Roland R 05 wave/mp3 recorder. The later will certainly help with bird counts in the Atlantic Forest at Laguna Blanca.

(Canons Farm)

First stop was Canons Farm where the fields near the first set of barns were alive with Fieldfare and Redwing. This mixed flock was flighty regularly switching fields in their search of tasty morsels. 

(Flooded Field)

It was also apparent that Canons had gained a pond as a result of the rain! Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Linnets and Pheasant were other farmland species seen on the way to Banstead Woods.

(Banstead Woods)

The entrance to the woods was a bit of a swamp but with wellies at the ready this part of the track was negotiated fairly easily. I made my way to the scrub in search of Bullfinch and it was not long before I heard and then saw 4 birds including a male.  

(Nuthatch)

I returned to the woods and remained there putting my new kit to the test. During this time I saw Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Song Thrush, Blue, Great and Long tailed Tits amongst other regular woodland species.

Overall a good days birding but I need to get to grips with the new camera hence the lack of bird pics! The Roland is an excellent piece of kit with crystal clear sound reproduction. I was surprised at the range of this recorder and would recommend it.