Day Out Around Beds Sunday 19th Jan 2014

I started out today with some good friends on a mission to see a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and was at the Northill/Shuttleworth junction at the crack of dawn to try and get a view, but although it was heard it was never seen. Plenty of other birds about at this site, Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits etc. To cheer ourselves up we went down to Broom and immediately got onto the Merlin feasting on the ground, that cheered us up. Then we moved onto Blunham to try and see the Black-Winged Stilts, escapees or not a lovely bird, much to our surprise we also ran into an Avocet at the same site along with many Thrushes, Song, Redwing, Blackbird and Fieldfare. We then moved onto Tempsford airfield where we ran into the Lesser Spotted Angry Gamekeeper, who was very aggressive and rude, apparently you all need to know the Memorial Barn is totally off limits and is on private land, so no Little Owl lurking allowed. RSPB types are not welcome in the words of this OAF! Despite this nonsense we came across good numbers of Siskin, Yellowhammer and a couple of Brown Hares.
Finally I returned to Northill about 3 ish to try and get a view of the LSW but alas, once again it was heard again but not seen.  Never mind all in all it was a good day even if the Tempsford boys tried to spoil it.