The end of the day – and the end of an era..
We’re in the process of tidying up the allotment before giving it up at the end of the year. We’re going from the ‘ridiculous’, a 1200 sq m plot to the ‘sublime’, a 10′ x 4′ raised bed! I was up there tonight and, as I tended the bonfire, I was thinking about all the birds I’ve seen over the years we’ve had it – in all a total 84 species. Highlights have included some pretty cool birds – Cattle Egret in the cow pasture next to the entrance track four years ago, a signing Wryneck in the boundary oaks in the April of that year, the pair of Black Redstart which spent a few days prospecting the wood pile on my neighbours plot, and a supporting cast including: Grey Partridge, Mandarin Duck, Ring Ouzel, Garden Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher. But possibly the stand-out birding moment over the years was waiting in the early morning mist for the visiting flock of Hawfinch to arrive in the Field Maple between the allotments and The Street, back in 2017.
A pretty special place – but it’s time to move on.
Hawfinch, from the Aylmerton flock – seen on one occasion from the allotment
Aylmerton Nature Diary 