A busy week on the patch resulting a jump of 4 species to add to the patch list for the year. In the brief visits I managed in the week the first new year tick was in the form of the first 8 House Martins of the year over Town Street farm .Also of note on that day was a calling Curlew and a fine male Sparrowhawk.
I managed a quick blast onto the patch on Tuesday and Summer migrant numbers were still low but a flock of 6 Meadow Pipits over to the north were a surprise .A good garden tick came in the form of 2 rather juicy and sexy looking garden Bullfinch, the first for a few weeks now.
So Wednesday brought me one of the best birds that pass through in the spring and summer in the form of a fine looking male Wheatear which spent two days on a bare field just above the cottage before moving on .
So by the time Saturday arrived Willow and I were hitting the patch by 6.30am and it was obvious that there had been a fall of birds around the area.
The first bird we heard was a calling Green Woodpecker and it was kept company by a drumming Greater Spotted which was nearby.
The most plentiful bird of the day was 13 plus Blackcap which seemed to have arrived in force ,birds were singing from hedges trees and even the smallest areas of cover. Chiffchaffs had crept up a little with 7 plus been seen or heard and its close cousin the Willow Warbler numbered 2 .
A good bird to see were the 3 Lesser Whitethroat which kept the still low numbers of Whitethroats (2) company .
Overhead 6 plus Swallow passed over and there were 7 House Martins over Town Street farm, still no passing Sand Martins yet though .
On the pastures were 2 Red Legged Partridge , one of which posed nicely on a fence post for awhile.4 Skylarks praised the heavens but their numbers seem down on last year . However Stock Doves seem to have increased on the patch as far as breeding birds are concerned.
A nice surprise was an over flying Little Egret which headed towards the river meadows from where the best sign of spring was heard in the form of a calling Cuckoo ,later on another Cuckoo passed over head flying strongly north .A great tick for the year and proof that spring has arrived.
The final sight of note was that of a Lapwing which moved north .That is very late sighting for this species on the patch even though they are at Coombe Hill Meadows and sometimes Ashleworth Ham both which are close to here.
On the raptor front just a single Buzzard today.
So Sunday dawned and I was full of hope that even more birds would of been dropped upon us, but alas it was not to be, but that been said the walk was not without its merits as the patch will always give you something to see.
A search of the hedgerows found 11 plus Chiffchaff ,so a few more than yesterday ,still 2 Willow Warblers ,both which are singing from the same areas as yesterday . Blackcaps numbered 10 plus today and there were 3 Whitethroats but no Lesser today. The best bird however was a singing Yellowhammer on the edge of the patch ,a bird which is sadly lacking from around here.
Overhead a few Swallows moved over but they numbered only 4 plus and 3 House Martins were still around Town Street farm. A surprise was a nice flock of 8 migrant Linnet which kept our resident pair company briefly. Winter still lingered in the form of 2 Meadow Pipits which sprang from the long grass ,both headed northwards quickly.
Around the feet of the cattle 3 Pied wagtails fed and 2 Red Legged partridges called from cover. The 4 Skylarks kept singing their heads off. Stock Doves numbered 10 today.
From the river meadows called a distant Cuckoo .
The raptor front came up trumps today with 6 Buzzard a female Kestrel and the 68th species of the year in the form of a superb Red Kite which drifted north just after midday.
The best of the rest were the usual Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
So a busy week on the patch finishes and I expect a few more summer migrants will hopefully arrive next week, so Binos at the ready me thinks.
