DAVID'S NATURE BLOG

10 JANUARY 2026 - SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP) and SURROUNDS

I suspected SCP lake would be frozen, but I decided to go anyway because I was after three species of bird - Rook, Chaffinch and Yellowhammer - that I hadn’t yet seen this year, and they are usually virtually guaranteed, although the latter was extremely difficult to see locally last year.

Passing through Thorley Wedge there was very little evidence of any bird movement, indeed the only birds on show were Woodpigeons and Magpies. Arriving at SCP I could see that the lake indeed was partially frozen, with only a contingent of Black-headed Gulls, a couple of Moorhens, and Mallards obvious. As I approached the boardwalk at the northern end of the lake many more Mallards came into view, with upwards of thirty - considerably more than I’d seen of late - collected mainly in the waters beyond the walkway, which were almost ice-free. On the lake there were two Moorhens trundling around on the ice, and slipping occasionally, with the gulls waiting for members of the public to feed them. A few mallards too waddling around and slipping on the ice.

What I didn’t expect to see - although I was aware they were certainly present around the lake - were Brown Rats, but two (probably juveniles from their slightly furry coats) were scurrying along the boardwalk with no obvious fear of the people feeding the gulls; or me come to that.

Although I didn’t see any Rooks on the periphery of the lake (not even one at the site of the Rookery, which amazed me) I did expect to see them on the ‘maze’ field, but not a single one could be found - the only birds around seemed to be a few Redwings in the hedges, and several Great and Blue Tits; but that was about it.

I crossed the main road (the A114) which was quite busy with Saturday traffic and took the muddy path in the direction of Moor Hall Farm, then on towards Mathams Pit, but initially nothing more than Tits was seen. As I approached a field full of spent root crops, I noticed a huge cloud of what I assumed were finches rise at the far end and take to oaks, but the light was poor, so I couldn’t make out the species, so I attempted to get nearer, but all that achieved was the birds flying further away. Eventually, the flock came back on itself which enabled me to confirm that it comprised mainly Chaffinches (indeed, at around 200 birds, the largest flock I’ve ever seen locally) with at least one Yellowhammer and one Greenfinch amongst them. But I still couldn’t get a decent view in such poor, very grey, light. I marched on towards Mathams Pit a just a few Redwings and Chaffinches seen in the hedges, then turned onto the wooden bridge leading up to St. James’ Church - with my boots continually weighed down by the sticky clay that clung to my soles.

There were no signs of any Skylarks (perhaps it was a tad too early to expect their jingling song to puncture the air this early in the year) but as I approached a group of commercial buildings next to the church (where I found a puddle or two to partially clear my boots of mud) I noticed a small flock of birds in a hawthorn bush, and as I came nearer I could see that they were all Yellowhammers - at least three males in the whole group of eleven - more that I’d ever seen locally (in most previous years I’d only ever seen two pairs at most in the spring, with just two in the winter months) so I was pleased with the views, even though the light remained very poor indeed, despite signs of clearing skies. There was no sign of the usual Mistle Thrush in the church grounds, so I made my way home, arriving at 13.45 hrs. I’d been out three and a half hours.