An odd title I know, but I will come to that in a moment. This last week has been notable for the almost constant passage of Swallows passing south ,only a few House Martins kept them company . The peak came on Friday when I think maybe up to 300 an hour must of gone by as every time I looked out there were flocks of 20 plus passing by. But on Saturday evening when in transit to a social there were at least 800 plus Swallow moving downriver, a great sight . Then on Sunday evening the first House Martins were seen for quite a few days when 40 plus passed over with 60 plus Swallow .
So the patch itself continues to show signs of the approaching change in the seasons. The walk on Saturday was short and very much curtailed and I think it was looking good when 62 Meadow Pipits exploded from pasture land .
Overhead the only Swallow were a paltry 2 , most having passed through the day before, but I was still hopeful as it was only 7.30am .It was then I heard the first hunting horn and the sound of Fox hounds ,I stupidly thought that perhaps they were exercising the dogs ,but no they were actually hunting.They were engaged in the wonderful pursuit of cubbing, this is where they try to kill the newborn cubs, against the law and just plain wrong . Does wealth and privilege mean that you can choose to ignore a law just because you do not like it ? I think not and it makes me puke that these people think they are above the law just because they own a farm or a friggin horse.
Anyway back to the birds , in the hedges were 2 Bullfinch and a flock of 10 Goldfinch , 2 Chiffchaff were with a mixed Tit flock.
The best birds were the first 2 Lapwing of the Autumn which paused briefly before flying off towards the river meadows .There were also a flock of 33 plus Stock Dove , they must be migrants as we usually only see 6 or so .
4 Pied Wagtails passed south west .
The best of the rest were Buzzard, 2 Skylark on pasture ,Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and the star of the show a superb Fox which emerged not 20 yards in front of Willow and I and trotted off in the opposite direction to the landred gentry who were intent in killing him . So it was 1 nil to the Fox .
Sunday it was back to normal and today there were plenty of birds moving south . In two hours there were plenty of signs of migration.
A flock of 26 Skylark on stubble was nice and a further 7 passed straight over south. Meadow Pipits increased to 110 plus and 50 plus Swallow zipped over south west.
In the hedges were 10 Chiffchaff , a male Blackcap and a Common Whitethroat. A flock of 9 Linnet were near the Meadow Pipits, we should see them increase as the Autumn moves on.
Overhead a Grey Heron passed to the south west and a Mute Swan passed over. My attention was drawn by a calling Raven as it headed upriver.
The best of the rest were a flyover Pied Wagtail , Green Woodpecker ,Greater Spotted Woodpecker , 8 Red Legged Partridge and 20 plus Stock Dove
