Saturday 27 September 2008

Freeman's Wood Pt 1

Freeman's Wood is a fun patch of woodland, scrub (and playing fields!) at the top end of the glorious parish of Aldcliffe.

Yesterday, I (Dan) re-acquainted myself with it after a year of neglect.
I've had a little accident and the wood is within limping distance of me house!
I even had to take my girlfriend with me because my cracked ribs means that it hurts when I pish.

With Rachel on pishing duties we slowly worked the wood for migrants but a few goldcrests, coal tits and chiffchaffs were the best we could manage.

Freeman's Wood has a reasonable track record for less common passerines. I found myself a yellow-browed warbler here in the big invasion of autumn 2005.

Jon Carter's nearby hedgerow firecrest of last year surely ended up somewhere in Freeman's thickets.

In spring 1989 a subalpine warbler was the ace find of Dave Carter and Ziggy Dawson.

Freeman's is a good spot for holding chiffchaffs and blackcaps through most winters. I've found mealy redpolls quietly snacking on seed heads here too .
A great grey shrike hung out in the 'lino dump' zone in the winter of 91/92.

A decent patch-within-a-patch and often worth a hobble...

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