Sunday 27 July 2014

A Golden Sunday

Willow and I were out by just after 6am , me being having been woken by the gentle call of a Bullfinch outside the bedroom window .
It was a tad colder today although still warm , and the birds that were around had seemed to have moved on ,but there were a few new arrivals.
Overhead 12 plus Swallows whizzed around they all seemed to local birds .They were joined by 6 local House Martins and a further 8 birds that flew over at height in a single flock heading south west.
There were still 3 Kestrel on the patch ,one been seen to take a small rodent and devour atop a telegraph pole. . There were a least 4 Buzzards  ,2 being mewing juveniles calling constantly.
A Raven was herd distantly as was the usual invisible Green Woodpecker , also about were  4 Greater Spotted Woodies.
A single Cormorant  passed downriver heading towards the estuary ,after a paucity of records I am starting to see them again on a regular basis.
Along the hedgerows this morning were 5 Chiffchaff (still no Willows ) , 4 Blackcap and a good count of 6 Whitethroat. Here"s hoping that we get a good run on the warbler front this Autumn.
On the pasture were a Red Legged Partridge with 4 recently mobile chicks ,6 Stock Dove and 2/3 Skylarks.
 The Linnets have gone with just a couple of birds seen today.
The patch looked in fine fettle today with the sun shining on the golden Maize and the recently mown grassland ,it was a really beautiful English summers morning and a privilege to be out and about.

Saturday 26 July 2014

And so it begins

The start of the Autumn migration appears to be starting on the patch with the first few birds on the move been see. Over the last week in the village a Spotted Flycatcher was seen and a Lesser Whitethroat along with Blackcaps were seen feeding on the first elder berries. The hedges were full of the sounds of contact calls of warblers , Chiffchaff and maybe the odd Willow Warbler.
 So it was early Saturday that Willow and I ventured onto the patch, clear blue skies ,bright sun and not too hot as we were early enough to be the heat.
 The very first obvious birds seen were Kestrels with 4 been seen ,the newly mown fields are to their liking ,easier hunting I am guessing. Helping to carry the raptor flag were at least 4 Buzzards ,the juveniles calling to be fed but mum and dad ignoring them forcing them too hunt for themselves .
 In the hedges it appears that some birds are filtering through the patch with 12 plus Chiffchaff (could not find any Willow Warblers), , 4 Blackcap and a Lesser Whitethroat and its close relative a Common Whitethroat were all seen .
The Autumns first flock of Linnets were seen with a flock of 9 which paused briefly, the end total was 15 plus .
There were a few Swallows which seem to be moving south west with a flock of 6 flying high over ,the final count was 21 plus ,a few local birds but a trickle of birds passing over. Just 5 House Martins today , I just could not  seem to find any today.
A Raven was heard as was a Green Woodpecker ,speaking of Woodpeckers ,2 Greater Spotted were about today.
On the meadows there were still 6 plus Skylarks ,they seem to have bred on the patch this year and whats more have been successful . .6 Stock Dove were in the usual places and a Yellow Wagtail called from the fodder beet field were they have been for awhile .
A local Pied Wagtail sat atop a farm barn and a couple of Brown Hares were sat in the meadows .
As we made our way back to the cottage the gentle call of a Bullfinch alerted us  to its present , a great way to finish the walk .
So although it feels like high summer, for the birds Autumn has already started and the start of the great journeys they undertake  have started . The best time of the year has started so in the words of a famous Robbie  Williams song "come grab your binoculars and come follow me "

Sunday 20 July 2014

Missing the bird

First of all sorry for the lack of updates . I have been away with work and time is in very short supply.
Autumn migration has started on the patch with a neighbour seeing a bird that I have not seen on the patch this year with a report of a male Redstart in his garden, if I had seen it that would be the magic number 80 but it was not to be . There is still time yet though.
 Having got back from Holland on Wednesday I managed a fleeting glimpse of a Spotted Flycatcher away from the nesting area. The neighbours report the birds have departed so was this one a passage migrant ?, a local bird ?,  or another part of another pair I have missed ?   , it was seen in the more usual place that they have been seen over the last few years . The only other highlight was a flock of 17 plus House Martins over a local farm before the rain set in on Saturday morning.
Sunday I took a trip to Coombe Hill meadows for some easy birding and it was nice to bump into Mike King who said the Great White Egret was not around. My sighting are on Mikes gloster birding website .
So it was on Sunday evening I took a truncated trip around the patch and as expected it was very quiet.
It was good to see the pair of Yellow Wagtails still about. They have proved elusive this year. singles of Whitethroat, Blackcap and 2 Chiffchaff were in the hedges. A pair of Skylarks were seen both seen carrying food ,so maybe a nest was nearby.
Just 2 Swallow and 4 House Martins graced the skies.
Normal service is now resumed ,so lets see what we can find over the next week or so .

Saturday 12 July 2014

Success on the patch

By the time I got onto the patch this morning it was later than I had hoped. It was hot with a few clouds and I was not expecting to see much with the patch in the middle of the summer hiatus.
In the village it was nice to see 3 Spotted Flycatchers proof that they have bred successfully .
Along the hedges were 2 Blackcaps ,along with 4 Whitethroats and 4 Chiffchaffs. There were also a small number of Linnets about as well .
On the pastures were 2 Red Legged Partridge along with 3 Skylark ,also seen were 6 Stock Dove ,a bird of subtle beauty ,take a close look next time they are really superb.
The high light of the walk was watching a male and female Yellow Wagtails feeding a fledged juvenile , the female was seen carrying food elsewhere so perhaps there are other young around as well.
Overhead were 8 plus House Martins and 8 Plus  Swallows  , but no Swifts today, reports from the migration watch points indicate that Swifts and Sand Martins are already beginning to leave our shores and begin their south wards migration.
On the raptor front a female Kestrel and 4 Buzzards were on offer . A couple of Ravens soared and called as they passed towards the Malvern Hills.
On the Woodpecker front a calling Green and 3 Greater Spotted chipped in . The last bird of note was a single Pied Wagtail on a farm barn roof.
I wait for the Autumn migration to start with high hopes .

Sunday 6 July 2014

Easy like Sunday morning

A beautiful morning ,warm ,slight breeze and fluffy white clouds a perfect day to visit the patch. The Patch is now in high summer mode with grass being cut for silage .
It will not be long now before the first returning birds will be seen on the patch , maybe last weeks Garden Warbler is the fore runner of the Autumn passage ,I have a feeling that it was a failed breeder on its way back to Africa.
Around the hedgerows today I managed to find 5 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff  and 5 Whitethroat .
It was overhead where most of the birds were today with 25 plus Swallow and 15 plus House Martins, surely some of the birds were this years first brood ,so here s hoping that they can get a second brood off .They were joined by a lone Swift briefly.
The Yellow Wagtails are still in situ so it would appear they are breeding again this year .They really are just beautiful birds ,its so sad they are declining .Willow and I have kept out of that field so as not to disturb them at all . Skylarks were still belting out their song with 5 plus still singing and a couple of Stock Doves were still hanging out.
On the raptor front 2 Buzzards flapped over and a female Kestrel was hunting over the recently cut meadows.
Green Woodpecker and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were both seen and heard and throughout this week a family of Green have been feeding in the field next to the cottage ,if we are lucky they may pop into the garden for a few Ants  .
A small flock of Linnets with 6 being seen today are perhaps"signs that the seasons will change soon enough .One Pied Wagtail was on  a farm roof  and the farmer told me they had bred at the rear of his barn ,youngsters having been seen .
I am glad to report that the Spotted Flycatchers were seen during the week near to their nesting site ,so fingers crossed . So really just really mellow Sunday morning on my little patch of no where .
For my Bullfinch fan I drew a blank again today , they seem a little elusive at the moment .