After the lords Mayor show.

After the excessës of yesterday it was a bit like after the lords mayors show today. I did not get out until 10 am having been to Ashleworth , plenty of action there , the same cannot be said of here.A singing BLACKCAP was a nice start,a bit further up the road a SAND MARTIN was a nice suprise,3 BUZZARD generally being given a kicking by the local crows, a couple of singing SKYLARK, PIED WAGTAIL over, and just 3 MEADOW PIPIT today the rest having moved on .The nicest suprise came when a CURLEW was heard calling from the direction of Staunton, 2 RED LEGGED PARTRIDGE,1 singing WILLOW WARBLER and a singing CHIFFCHAFF completed todays line up. Down the road at Ashleworth I managed to see the first REDSTART and WHITETHROAT of the year and it was heaving in WILLOW WARBLER , CHIFFCHAFF, and BLACKCAP. The next few weeks are going to be great, so remember to keep your eyes and ears peeled .

MIGRANTS STILL MOVING

Went for a quick dash around early evening and found the earlier Yellow Wagtail ( or is this another one !)with a flock of 40 plus Pied Wagtail , also 20 plus Meadow Pipit . Both Willow and my wife were not impressed , but I tried to export some of my enthuiasm all the same A House Martin over Tewkesbury was my first trhis spring so our local birds can"t be far away .

Spring is spinging, I had a feeling today might a good day, and in the event I was not wrong, as soon as I had stepped out the door I could hear singing Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Willow Warbler , the latter being a spring and autumn passagge migrant in the local vicinity , but breeding just down the road at Ashleworth and in the flood meadows . There was 10 Linnet today, also 2 Ravens calling and flying low around the area. It was good to see and hear at least 9 Skylarks, a confused Little Owl called a couple of times and 6 Buzzards soared overhead. It was nice to see a flock of 14 migrant Meadow Pipits , we will soon not see anymore until late August /early September, 6 Stock Dove were on territories, just 1 Pied Wagtail over. The best birds came towards the end of the walk, with a pair of Yellowhammer in the same area that they bred last year , the male being splendid in the brightest yellow. Swallow were passing over and it appears that the first local birds are back, with a total of 8 being seen this morning. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker was calling from a dead tree, but this was eclisped by the two male Wheatears on fence posts , one of my favourite birds , finally 1 Yellow Wagtail flew over north calling. It could be even better tommorrow , but I"m going to take a early morning look at Ashleworth Ham,maybe the first Whitethroats and House Martins will be back in Tirley tommorrow, lets see in the morning

Patch Birding, The above can be tough,so I went out this afternoon not expecting great things , and in the event things were a bit better than I expected,2 singing Blackcap with 4 Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows were signs of spring.There was at least 10 Buzzards in the area, with 2 passing high to the north west possibily being migrants.3 Swallows were feeding above Town Street farm with another passing due north, 2 Pied Wagtail passed over. There was just one singing Skylark today, the usual small Linnet flock were about, maybe they will breed again this year.2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were calling, Stock Dove, Bullfinch, and a flock of 18 Goldfinch made up the supporting cast. Finally 2 female Sparrowhawks passed over, one high from the south east passing directly to the north .All the resident birds seem to be busy proclaiming their breeding territories, with Greenfinch being quite noticable. Lets hope for some TIRLEY magic tommorrow.

A quick dash up the road this evening in order to try and give a little coverage of the area which has been sadly lacking due to work etc turned up 2 Little Owls calling at 6.35pm. 2 singing Blackcap were obvious arrivals , but just one Chiffchaff. Red Legged Partridge were calling and the now resident small flock of Linnet were around, Hopefully work etc will slow down and I will be able to give a better account of what is happening in the next day or so .

Tirley Twittering: quick update

Tirley Twittering: quick update: A quick evening walk produced another 2 Swallow feeding in the fields near to our house and what appears to be a "new "Chiffchaff singing ne...

quick update

A quick evening walk produced another 2 Swallow feeding in the fields near to our house and what appears to be a "new "Chiffchaff singing near the centre o the village, just shows even in this poor weather migrants are still arriving.