I abandoned my full patch walk half way round this morning, the cold wet and dismal weather finally defeated my enthusiasm, it's May, and I had a fleece, a rain coat, a scarf, a woolly hat and a pair of gloves on ! :-(
I was able to visit the Tree Nursery, Greenhouse Grounds, Migrant Alley and the College Grounds before wimping out, and returning home for a hot bowl of Porridge, my favourite winter breakfast :-) The two hours produced 41 species, the most exciting was my first
HOBBY (
93,
57) of the year, seen speeding over the Greenhouse Grounds as I was sheltering from a period of heavier rain. A
TREECREEPER (
58) was added to the months list when one was heard singing somewhere from a line of Alder trees along the banks of the College stream. Whilst walking the College Grounds the first fledgling ROBIN was seen, looking wet and cold, but still strong enough to beg loudly for food, which duly came from a parent. The only other noteworthy occurrence was another flyover YELLOW WAGTAIL that went NW over Migrant Alley.
In the Tree Nursery, there could be three pairs of WHITETHROAT, but they are very mobile, and there may be just the two, more definite was a single LESSER WHITETHROAT which gave some quiet rattling, the BARNACLE GOOSE flew over with its CANADA GOOSE mate whilst I was watching the KESTREL up hunting, and as I plodded of home a SPARROWHAWK flashed across Ashes Lane. Not much else to say about todays less than enjoyable patch visit.
Around 11:00hrs whilst at home, the sky went from very grey to just plain grey, allowing me to point the camera out the window at my garden feeders, it was all over in 20 minutes though and the dark grey resumed for the duration of the day, I did note the first fledged DUNNOCK though, the seventh species to have successfully been bred on my patch so far this spring :-)
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| GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Recently fledged BLACKBIRD, doing well despite the conditions, its living off ivy berries and sunflower hearts! |
9 comments:
Nice GSW shots and a Hobby, snap!
Well done on the Hobby Warren! The GSW photos are lovely but then so is the young Blackbird :-) I see the GSW is ringed, would that be the chap down the road that you once mentioned do you think?
We actually had some sun today and by late afternoon it was really pleasant, much colder than it should be though! Tomorrow looks like an absolute washout :-(
I'd be happy to point my camera into the garden and end up with a Great Spotted Woodpecker! Lovely pics.
I was wrapped up like that today at Elmley and still freezing :( Good to hear of more fledglings appearing on your patch!
We had a hard frost up here, Warren. From one extreme to the other at the moment, aint it.
I absolutely love the photograph of the sparrowhawk you have at the top of your blog it's fantastic.
I've got a family of blackbirds that are eating the berries of the ivy in my garden too, they don't seem to like the idea of sharing though!
Don't get my Woody these days! Miss him, her and the little ones.
Congrats on the cup mate- a deserved win.
I'n still scanning those skies for my first patch Hobby of the Spring Warren. Although I did have one earlier this week 'off patch'
Songbird,
You'd be right in assuming the pecker was ringed by my friend down the lane from me, he always puts the ring on the birds left leg ;-)
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