A drumming greater spotted woodpecker was an unexpected surprise on this dank and dreary day. It was not the full-throttled drumming you would expect come the spring, but was clearly a territorial sound display and not a bird excavating rotten wood. I would not expect to hear this sound for another month or two in normal circumstances.
In the field above the church, a female sparrow hawk was quartering low to the ground. I presume it was hoping to set up one of the skylarks that are still about. Or maybe, it was looking to spook the partridges that are still round. The only thing I saw it disturb was a fieldfare and it studiously ignored this bird, so for some reason did not consider it suitable prey.
I then watched a male blackbird chasing redwings from its chosen feeding spot. I was surprised to see this and have not really noticed it happening before. The bird was spending so much time chasing away the thrushes that it hardly had time to feed itself.
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