Last of the (Common) Crows

What seemed to be a really unproductive evening walk in the wood, produced two patch ticks, but nothing to get excited about. I'd planned to go out over the Pit Tip Top, but as I got close, I could hear some idiot on a motorbike, so I gave it a miss and headed down into the woods. A single Jay was close to the entrance again and, as I descended towards Shopping Trolley Pond, a group of four were flying over towards the Pit Tip Plantation. A little further down I caught a glimpse of a Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler, calling in the trees by the hand rail. I could make out the dark eye stripe, but its feet were hidden, so on call I put it as probable Chiffchaff. At least one Skylark was heard singing over the Pit Tip in the background.

The idiot on the motorbike seemed to be going along all the main pathways, thus ruining any chance I had of seeing much, but a long-awaited patch tick came in the form of a Jackdaw in the horse paddock. Several groups of between two and four were feeding throughout the field - seemingly on horse manure! I'm sure I've seen them around here previously, but have always overlooked them in the past. A Song Thrush was singing away at the entrance of the Khalsa Wood, but I didn't manage to see with it in the failing light.

Around Alexandra Lodge the crows were coming in to roost and making quite a bit of noise. My second patch tick was a Spring migrant that had left before I began birding here last year. I watched a single Barn Swallow circle the lodge three times in an attempt to catch its super. Heading back up the track around the newly-fenced Calluna Clearing I caught a brief glimpse of a large brown bird that flew low from a perching position, but it was too dark to make out what it was - possibly a Sparrowhawk. My first Bat of the year was seen just as I was leaving the park, but the only thing I know about Bats is that they're hard to identify, so I won't even begin to try! In all, I saw less than ten different species this evening, but my patch list has hit 70, so I'm not complaining.