Yes I ma down with the kids ,but that was the weather that greeted Willow and I as we ventured out this morning .It was a holiday in Holland today so it was a perfect time to visit the patch on a week day .As I stepped out the door I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling , a good start but it was about to get a lot better when a Spotted Flycatcher alighted on a wire above my head. So the stars of the patch are here ,after weeks of worrying and wondering they are back, the stars of the patch for me ,they must be nesting elsewhere this year so I will try to track them down .
In the hedges despite the drizzle I managed to find 4 Chiffchaff, 7 Blackcap, 7 Whitethroat ( its been a great year for them so far ,it just seems to keep getting better ), and a calling Cuckoo.
On the pastures a Red Legged Partridge called hidden somewhere , 8 plus Skylarks did their best that it was actually spring time and 3 Pied Wagtails fed or passed over .
Overhead in front of the advancing drizzle a nice flock of 37 plus Swift passed over ,but only 4 Swallow were seen today. A Raven mugged one of the passing Buzzards ( there were 2 today), and a Stock Dove whizzed by .
The patch list moves to 75
