With one or two early wheatears turning up I fancied the Marston fields for one today. There was one  too, a lovely male, in the very first field I checked.  Quite a few skylarks were paired up and a handful of tree sparrows zipped around the field edge and hedgerow. I didn’t find any more wheatears in the rest of the fields so moved on to check Barkston aerodrome, ideal habitat but just more skylarks, meadow pipits and a few winter thrushes here.

Calling back in at Marston later on, a marsh harrier zipped through and three or four chiffchaffs sang, around the works area. Along Hougham mill lane the two pink footed geese rested in a newly ploughed field and about a ninety fieldfare fed.

I couldn’t resist stopping to take a pic of these red-breasted geese at Carlton Scroop, they were in a smallholding with the chickens and a couple of barnacle geese. Gawd knows where they came from, but I sure don’t think it’s the Arctic Tundra.