My column in the Yorkshire Post on Saturday featured a flock of wild birds I had photographed feeding on seed heads poking through a blanket of snow.
I passed them on the school run across the Wolds. Huge numbers of corn buntings (an RSPCA red list species), linnets, bramblings, yellow hammers, even a few dozen reed buntings.
I have never seen birds in these numbers before. Their colours burst into definition as I looked through my binoculars - it was like looking through a kaleidoscope.
The farm that hosted this conservation strip has Higher Level Stewardship conservation status and had planted linseed, sunflower and millet expecially for these birds - it was certainly doing it's job and such a joy to see.
2 comments
They are fairly rare here too! This was quite an exceptional sighting!!!
Wow! So many corn buntings. We don’t see them very often in Hong Kong at all.