Saturdays walk was ruined by the delightful hobby by the local law breaking local hunt as they pursued in the past time of Cubbing .Against the law they send in a pack of hounds into a field whilst surrounding the field with riders to kill fox cubs .It amazes me how these people think they are above the law of the land .There were at least 50 riders including kids , just so friggin wrong . As a result Willow and I had to cancel our walk .
It therefore came as a relief on Sunday morning then that there were no sounds of the hunt to be heard. It was grey with low cloud and maybe a tad chillier .
So the first bird I heard was a singing Chiffchaff .The magic hedgerow seem to have lost some of its magic but after some searching of the other spots there were some reasonable counts of Chiffchaffs with 12 pus seen . I managed to also find 4 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.
There were more small signs of Autumn to be seen with a party of 5 Mistle Thrush , small numbers of Meadow pipits with 6 been seen and 2 Skylark. Of note there seem to be more Song Thrush than of late with at least 6 birds , some to be arriving from high eastwards .
There were at least 3 Jays around today and a flyover Pied Wagtail passed south west. For the numbers Swallows stole the show with 129 plus passing east to south east. There were today no House Martins the first time in a long while none have been seen .
There are more Goldfinches of late with 45 plus on the patch today including a flock of 25 . A Bullfinch was heard from the usual place, but I could not see it.
The log for birds of prey today comprised of a female Sparrow Hawk, male Kestrel and 3 Buzzards. The usual resident Ravens (2), gronked over the patch .
There are more Robins on the patch at the moment with at least a dozen seen or heard ,are they winters visitors already or are they the product of a good breeding season locally ?
Other birds seen today were a Green Woodpecker , 3 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Stock Dove and a skien of feral Greylag Geese (23), .With the weather set for the foreseeable future I can only hope that the big one turns up ,it cannot be far away with the likes of Wryneck seen not to far away in Gloucester. We just need one more species to match last years total of 85 and now that the bird feeders are stocked up and more and more birds are appearing the garden I have high hopes.
Sunday, 14 September 2014
Sunday, 7 September 2014
After the lords Mayors show
A quiet benign morning ,with little or no wind ,grey skies and a quiet vibe. I get the feeling that things have slowed down somewhat after the relative rush of birds that my little patch has had recently.
As is the case at this time of year the main Warbler species that is passing through at the moment appears to be the Chiffchaff with 15 plus again today (down from yesterday), I did manage to find a single Willow warbler today, the first for a few days. Also present were 2 Whitethroat ,and 2 Blackcap. So you can see its the quietest its been for a few weeks now.
However overhead a few birds were moving over ,if not in large numbers there are signs of the changing seasons . 2 Grey Heron moved north ,it would seem that they had roosted at the local fish ponds and 3 Cormorants passed over . Again a Pied Wagtail passed south west the forerunner of passage which gets going in October.
Swallows trickled through with just 38 plus passing in all directions this morning and House Martins were still active around the local colony with 10 plus birds and another 2 passed high south west.
There are more Finches around at the moment and a fine flock of Goldfinch numbering 41 passed over and in the end there were around 55 plus over in the entire walk .
It was also nice to see 9 Linnet pausing briefly and there were more Chaffinches of late .The finch compliment was made up of 2 Bullfinch . My Bullfinch fan will be pleased to know they seem to have taken up residence once again in the local vicinity.
Carrying on with the Autumnal theme I managed to see yesterdays Jay (or was it another one? ) , and today there were 11 Meadow Pipits on pasture but the Skylarks had moved on. The annual build up of Starlings has started and today there were around 220 plus around ,they are attracted by the fruit on the trees in some of the old orchards that we still have around here.
Raptors were a female Kestrel ,male Sparrow hawk and 2 Buzzard ,a couple of Raven flew low calling as they passed over.
We seem to be awash with Woodpeckers at the moment with 2 Green Woodpeckers and at least 6 Greater spotted seen this morning .
4 Stock Dove were last birds to make the log today .Just a small note yesterday I noticed that we seem to have had an influx of Robins onto the patch with at least 15 seen yesterday and it was the same today so it was not me just imagining it. I remarked to a visitor to the patch yesterday that one or two looked quite continental but surely its bit early yet for them to have arrived for the winter ?
Well lets see what next week has in store .
As is the case at this time of year the main Warbler species that is passing through at the moment appears to be the Chiffchaff with 15 plus again today (down from yesterday), I did manage to find a single Willow warbler today, the first for a few days. Also present were 2 Whitethroat ,and 2 Blackcap. So you can see its the quietest its been for a few weeks now.
However overhead a few birds were moving over ,if not in large numbers there are signs of the changing seasons . 2 Grey Heron moved north ,it would seem that they had roosted at the local fish ponds and 3 Cormorants passed over . Again a Pied Wagtail passed south west the forerunner of passage which gets going in October.
Swallows trickled through with just 38 plus passing in all directions this morning and House Martins were still active around the local colony with 10 plus birds and another 2 passed high south west.
There are more Finches around at the moment and a fine flock of Goldfinch numbering 41 passed over and in the end there were around 55 plus over in the entire walk .
It was also nice to see 9 Linnet pausing briefly and there were more Chaffinches of late .The finch compliment was made up of 2 Bullfinch . My Bullfinch fan will be pleased to know they seem to have taken up residence once again in the local vicinity.
Carrying on with the Autumnal theme I managed to see yesterdays Jay (or was it another one? ) , and today there were 11 Meadow Pipits on pasture but the Skylarks had moved on. The annual build up of Starlings has started and today there were around 220 plus around ,they are attracted by the fruit on the trees in some of the old orchards that we still have around here.
Raptors were a female Kestrel ,male Sparrow hawk and 2 Buzzard ,a couple of Raven flew low calling as they passed over.
We seem to be awash with Woodpeckers at the moment with 2 Green Woodpeckers and at least 6 Greater spotted seen this morning .
4 Stock Dove were last birds to make the log today .Just a small note yesterday I noticed that we seem to have had an influx of Robins onto the patch with at least 15 seen yesterday and it was the same today so it was not me just imagining it. I remarked to a visitor to the patch yesterday that one or two looked quite continental but surely its bit early yet for them to have arrived for the winter ?
Well lets see what next week has in store .
Saturday, 6 September 2014
Blue Flash !
This morning it was an early start for Willow and I as we had a visiting birder from London with us this morning. I was hoping for one of those special patch days but in the event we managed to turn up a few nice birds but not the excitement I was hoping that migration may have produced.
After a very quiet start along the magic hedgerow a Blue Flash whizzed by and a very unexpected bird flashed by in the form of a Kingfisher ! what an earth it was doing so far from the river who knows but it is the 84th species this year for the patch ,a good start for the walk .
The magic hedgerow seems to have its peak for the year and was pretty quiet. We managed to find 3 Whitethroat, 1 very shy Lesser Whitethroat, a brief Redstart (which was a target bird for Dave ), and a great count of at least 21 plus Chiffchaff . Birds were spread out over the patch and not concentrated in the usual haunts.
Overhead after a slow start Swallows passed south to south west with 66 plus over and House Martins passed quickly south with one flock of 45 plus ,then another of 30 plus passed south west over the cottage as Willow and I were drinking a well deserved brew after such an early start ,so the final count was 79 plus.
A flock of 12 pus Goldfinch went over ,a far cry from the other day .There are now plenty of Autumnal signs that are appearing thick and fast and nothing more welcome as the first two small flocks of Meadow Pipits with 3 south west and a further 5 on pasture . A flock of 20 plus Skylarks arrived at 9.30ish . The raucous call of a Jay alerted us to its presence.
Raptors got into the act with 2 Buzzard and a male Sparrow hawk and 3 Raven gronked their way around the patch .
Woodpeckers were plentiful with at least 6 Greater Spotted and 2 Green bouncing over and around the patch this morning.
As we neared the cottage a Little Owl called three times and a Bullfinch was heard from a hedge .
So I hope my visitor from the big smoke enjoyed rural Gloucestershire and although not at its vintage best the patch put on a good show. My thanks to Dave for his help in spotting and hearing what was passing
The patch list moves to 84 !
After a very quiet start along the magic hedgerow a Blue Flash whizzed by and a very unexpected bird flashed by in the form of a Kingfisher ! what an earth it was doing so far from the river who knows but it is the 84th species this year for the patch ,a good start for the walk .
The magic hedgerow seems to have its peak for the year and was pretty quiet. We managed to find 3 Whitethroat, 1 very shy Lesser Whitethroat, a brief Redstart (which was a target bird for Dave ), and a great count of at least 21 plus Chiffchaff . Birds were spread out over the patch and not concentrated in the usual haunts.
Overhead after a slow start Swallows passed south to south west with 66 plus over and House Martins passed quickly south with one flock of 45 plus ,then another of 30 plus passed south west over the cottage as Willow and I were drinking a well deserved brew after such an early start ,so the final count was 79 plus.
A flock of 12 pus Goldfinch went over ,a far cry from the other day .There are now plenty of Autumnal signs that are appearing thick and fast and nothing more welcome as the first two small flocks of Meadow Pipits with 3 south west and a further 5 on pasture . A flock of 20 plus Skylarks arrived at 9.30ish . The raucous call of a Jay alerted us to its presence.
Raptors got into the act with 2 Buzzard and a male Sparrow hawk and 3 Raven gronked their way around the patch .
Woodpeckers were plentiful with at least 6 Greater Spotted and 2 Green bouncing over and around the patch this morning.
As we neared the cottage a Little Owl called three times and a Bullfinch was heard from a hedge .
So I hope my visitor from the big smoke enjoyed rural Gloucestershire and although not at its vintage best the patch put on a good show. My thanks to Dave for his help in spotting and hearing what was passing
The patch list moves to 84 !
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
Warm Wednesday
Yes another update, it was a warm humid cloudy afternoon after work , and with an slightly easterly breeze it would of been rude not to venture out .
It appeared that it was a good deal quieter than it has been but there were a good spread of species over the part of the patch that I covered .
Overhead House Martins numbered 10 plus in the early afternoon and 12 plus later on ,it was the same as Swallows with just 8 over early in the afternoon and then at 5.30pm a large number appeared with over 200 plus feeding over fields near the village ,some resting on the over head wires.
In the hedges although quieter there were still 2 Spotted Flycatchers and a Redstart .
As I wandered along the lanes it was great to come across 3 fine Wheatears on the fence posts beside the pastures .
In the same area 2 Whitethroats appeared on a barbed wire fence ,so at one point 3 Wheatears and the 2 Whitethroats were all the same piece of fence .
Overhead a party of 3 Raven passed south west flying low over calling. Also seen were a Green Woodpecker, a passing Grey Heron and 2 Stock Doves.
With easterlies all week it could be a good week .
It appeared that it was a good deal quieter than it has been but there were a good spread of species over the part of the patch that I covered .
Overhead House Martins numbered 10 plus in the early afternoon and 12 plus later on ,it was the same as Swallows with just 8 over early in the afternoon and then at 5.30pm a large number appeared with over 200 plus feeding over fields near the village ,some resting on the over head wires.
In the hedges although quieter there were still 2 Spotted Flycatchers and a Redstart .
As I wandered along the lanes it was great to come across 3 fine Wheatears on the fence posts beside the pastures .
In the same area 2 Whitethroats appeared on a barbed wire fence ,so at one point 3 Wheatears and the 2 Whitethroats were all the same piece of fence .
Overhead a party of 3 Raven passed south west flying low over calling. Also seen were a Green Woodpecker, a passing Grey Heron and 2 Stock Doves.
With easterlies all week it could be a good week .
Monday, 1 September 2014
Get yer self a Hobby youngman !
Whats this a mid week update ? , well just a quick one really as the 83rd species of the year graced the skies above the patch in the form of a long overdue Hobby which was feeding on Dragon flies . I had only been saying to another birder today that I had not seen one on the patch this year and bazinger ! one appears as if to order.
In the short mid work break the magic hedge held 2 Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler , 3 plus Chiffchaff . 2 Green Woodpeckers and a Raven passed over /by. So the great Autumn carry s on and with Easterlies all this week the big one is on its way !
In the short mid work break the magic hedge held 2 Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler , 3 plus Chiffchaff . 2 Green Woodpeckers and a Raven passed over /by. So the great Autumn carry s on and with Easterlies all this week the big one is on its way !
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Creepy !
An early alarm call from Willow meant we were out on the patch by 6.45am.Clear blue skies with a slight north wind made me think that maybe birds would of moved on and in the event it seemed quieter but in the end , it was obvious some birds had moved on and had been replaced by another wave of migrants.
The magic hedge was still producing birds but migrants were more evenly spread around the patch. The magic one did however produce the 82 end species for the patch for the year and it was an unexpected one at that, it came in the form of a Treecreeper , a rare bird on the patch so really good to see .
We appeared to have had a small fall of Chiffchaff with 11 plus seen today and more heard in the surrounding hedges , along with them came 2 Willow Warblers but there were more no doubt lurking in the bushes.
Other migrants seen on the patch were 2 plus Redstart (its been really good Autumn for these birds, after a very slow spring ), 4 Blackcap, Whitethroat , and again a good count of 4 Lesser Whitethroat , this species has been passing through in good numbers this Autumn . I still managed to find 4 plus Spotted Flycatchers in two different localities , no doubt some being the local breeding birds and others passing migrants.
Overhead there were many more less passing migrants with just 28 plus Swallows trickling south wards and 45 plus House Martins , most were over Town Street Farm and gave the impression of being local breeding birds , gone were the Swallows from yesterday ,but it shows the passage of migrants heading southwards .
The best bird overhead was a passing Yellow Wagtail which called as it passed south east .A flock of 25 Goldfinch passed over heading towards a large thistle bank near the Church.
Walking across the pastures produced a single Skylark and a single Stock Dove.
On the raptor front the usual 3 species which appear to be in residence at the moment showed with 3 Buzzard, male Kestrel and a Sparrow Hawk .
A Green woodpecker and 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker made themselves known.
So the species tally for the patch advances to 82 for the year and so far the Autumn has been good , I get the feeling we may be due for something really good to turn up ,if we can just get a nice easterly breeze ,well heres hoping
The magic hedge was still producing birds but migrants were more evenly spread around the patch. The magic one did however produce the 82 end species for the patch for the year and it was an unexpected one at that, it came in the form of a Treecreeper , a rare bird on the patch so really good to see .
We appeared to have had a small fall of Chiffchaff with 11 plus seen today and more heard in the surrounding hedges , along with them came 2 Willow Warblers but there were more no doubt lurking in the bushes.
Other migrants seen on the patch were 2 plus Redstart (its been really good Autumn for these birds, after a very slow spring ), 4 Blackcap, Whitethroat , and again a good count of 4 Lesser Whitethroat , this species has been passing through in good numbers this Autumn . I still managed to find 4 plus Spotted Flycatchers in two different localities , no doubt some being the local breeding birds and others passing migrants.
Overhead there were many more less passing migrants with just 28 plus Swallows trickling south wards and 45 plus House Martins , most were over Town Street Farm and gave the impression of being local breeding birds , gone were the Swallows from yesterday ,but it shows the passage of migrants heading southwards .
The best bird overhead was a passing Yellow Wagtail which called as it passed south east .A flock of 25 Goldfinch passed over heading towards a large thistle bank near the Church.
Walking across the pastures produced a single Skylark and a single Stock Dove.
On the raptor front the usual 3 species which appear to be in residence at the moment showed with 3 Buzzard, male Kestrel and a Sparrow Hawk .
A Green woodpecker and 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker made themselves known.
So the species tally for the patch advances to 82 for the year and so far the Autumn has been good , I get the feeling we may be due for something really good to turn up ,if we can just get a nice easterly breeze ,well heres hoping
Saturday, 30 August 2014
Migants on the move.
No that is not a reference to people hopping on trucks in Calais but to the avian visitors that are moving through the patch right now. The last week has been a good one and work has got in the way, however I have managed fleeting visits to the patch and the Magic Hedgerow has been in form with multiple sightings of Redstart (up to 5), Spotted Flycatchers(up to 5), Multiple Lesser Whitethroats, Whitethroats, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps etc. Swallows and House Martins have also passed over in fair numbers for here abouts and we had a party of 4 Raven over as well.
So Saturday dawned and Willow and I were out and up at em as they say, having seen a Sparrow Hawk on the hedge next to the bedroom with a Blackbird kill I was fairly confident that it was going to be a good morning. In the end it was perhaps a little disappointing perhaps but maybe I have just been spoilt this week.
Walking along the hedges the birds were moved spaced out over the whole patch today but I managed to find 7 plus Chiffchaff, a good total of 5 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Redstart, and 3 Spotted Flycatchers.
The usual Woodpeckers were about with 1 Green and at least 2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers seen.
Overhead at least 120 plus Swallows passed over or were feeding over the patch ,they were kept company with just 15 plus House Martin today .The major surprise was the number of Goldfinches with at least 125 plus this morning ,including a large flock of at least 80 plus , these birds will pass through in good numbers for the next few weeks if we are lucky. A nice surprise was the sound of at least 130 plus feral Greylag Geese as passed over ,plastic I know but still nice to see.
Raptors got in the act with a male Kestrel ,2 Buzzard and another Sparrow Hawk this one getting mobbed by a large number of Swallows.
On the field margins there were 7 Stock Dove, and in one hedge a nice sight of a flock of 30 plus Long Tailed Tits . Another bonus was the sight of a flock of 30 plus House Sparrows feeding on stubble, a much rarer sight than it should be nowadays. The walk was brought down a bit with the unpleasant sighting of 2 gun toting guys who were about to start shooting crows etc very very sad .
Any way lets see what tomorrow brings.
So Saturday dawned and Willow and I were out and up at em as they say, having seen a Sparrow Hawk on the hedge next to the bedroom with a Blackbird kill I was fairly confident that it was going to be a good morning. In the end it was perhaps a little disappointing perhaps but maybe I have just been spoilt this week.
Walking along the hedges the birds were moved spaced out over the whole patch today but I managed to find 7 plus Chiffchaff, a good total of 5 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Redstart, and 3 Spotted Flycatchers.
The usual Woodpeckers were about with 1 Green and at least 2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers seen.
Overhead at least 120 plus Swallows passed over or were feeding over the patch ,they were kept company with just 15 plus House Martin today .The major surprise was the number of Goldfinches with at least 125 plus this morning ,including a large flock of at least 80 plus , these birds will pass through in good numbers for the next few weeks if we are lucky. A nice surprise was the sound of at least 130 plus feral Greylag Geese as passed over ,plastic I know but still nice to see.
Raptors got in the act with a male Kestrel ,2 Buzzard and another Sparrow Hawk this one getting mobbed by a large number of Swallows.
On the field margins there were 7 Stock Dove, and in one hedge a nice sight of a flock of 30 plus Long Tailed Tits . Another bonus was the sight of a flock of 30 plus House Sparrows feeding on stubble, a much rarer sight than it should be nowadays. The walk was brought down a bit with the unpleasant sighting of 2 gun toting guys who were about to start shooting crows etc very very sad .
Any way lets see what tomorrow brings.
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