Summary – The day dawned bright and sunny and following earlier visits to sections of the course the first transect route was undertaken. A transect is a route that is followed on a regular basis and allows direct comparison of observations between visits, the route begins at the 5th tee and then follows the track that runs behind the 4th and 11th greens, across the 13th fairway and along the edge of the 14th fairway to the 15th tee before cutting across the 3rd to the quarry. The route then heads down through the 8th hole plantation to the pond on the 9th fairway before cutting across the 7th fairway to view the pond on the 6th and then back along the edge of the 5th fairway back to the start.
A total of 26 species were logged including nine additions to the course list and it was quickly noticeable that spring was in the air. Many of the resident species such as Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Robin, Wren and Dunnock in fine voice as they competed for territories while Tree Sparrow, Siskin, Meadow Pipit, Collared Dove and Jackdaw were all new additions as they passed overhead. The plantation near the 8th hole proved productive holding a good number of Chaffinches while Coal Tit and Goldcrest, both new for the course, were also seen here. The pond on the 6th fairway provided a territorial Reed Bunting while a group of gulls loafing in the 11th fairway included a few Lesser Black-backed Gull that were newly arrived from their wintering grounds in Spain and Portugal. These birds nest with Herring Gulls on the roofs of the nearby industrial estate and will now remain with us until after the breeding season.
Coal Tit
Coal Tit
Goldcrest
Siskin
Species List
Blackbird 3
Blue Tit 2
Carrion Crow 4
Chaffinch 11
Coal Tit 2
Collared Dove 2
Dunnock 1
Goldcrest 3
Goldfinch 2
Great Tit 5
Greenfinch 2
Herring Gull 21
Jackdaw 1
Lesser Black-backed Gull 6
Long-tailed Tit 5
Magpie 5
Meadow Pipit 1
Pied Wagtail 1
Reed Bunting 1
Robin 4
Siskin 3
Song Thrush 1
Starling 2
Tree Sparrow 1
Woodpigeon 11
Wren 3
