Pittswood Birds

Bluebells in the Wet Woods

Well yesterdays Grass Snake seems to have gone down well with fellow bloggers! Thanks for all the kind comments, i'll have to try and find another one!

Back to this morning though and it was a dull and cloudy start, heading off to the College Grounds I noted one of the KESTREL pair on the Greenhouse guttering as I passed, and a WHITETHROAT sang from the grounds there.

The first of 9 SWIFTS seen today flew over Migrant Alley, as did 4 GREYLAG GEESE, I saw 15 LINNETS and a GREEN WOODPECKER fly up from one of the paddocks, then a SPARROWHAWK whizzed into the College Grounds as I approached, putting up all the SWALLOWS from the stables there. An hours look around the grounds and gardens of the college didn't bring me the Spotted Flycatcher I am wanting to find there, but I did get a bonus bird for the May list when I watched a GREY WAGTAIL (61) fly along the stream behind the college, only the second sighting of this species this year, it appeared to be carrying food, so i'll have to check out this area again to see if it is breeding here somewhere.

I was a bit short of time this morning, so i only had an hour over at the lakes and Scrubby Woods, which was worth the effort, as I had good views of both the COOT pair today, and was surprised to see three youngsters with them, ive only been seeing two for the last couple of weeks  :-) There was no sign of the Greylag Geese or the goslings, they may be on an adjacent off patch field though. A TURTLE DOVE was ''purring'' in the Scrubby Woods, good to hear that again, a few CHIFFCHAFFS and BLACKCAPS were the only other summer singers in there today, along with the resident COAL TIT joining in. Up to 6 BULLFINCH were seen, 4 of them males, so hopefully there should be some young to find next month  :-)

ROBIN

Later in the afternoon, around 14:30hrs, I headed off out for a skywatch from my seat at Migrant Alley, I only had little over an hour, but it proved to be a good watch, a couple of GREY HERONS went over together, and SKYLARK song was heard over the Greenhouse Grounds behind me, at least 5 BUZZARD sightings were had, all singles so i dont know how many birds were involved. Then 45 mins into my watch, I got onto a big raptor coming over from the North, as it got nearer I was well pleased to see it was a RED KITE (95,62) at last my hours of sky watching has paid off, this was just what I was looking for!  The Kite came nearer and nearer to my seat, eventually I could see it so well floating just 40 -50 meters above me, a superb adult male, a fantastic opportunity to get my best Red Kite photo's yet, but I had left the camera at home, blast it! My own fault, I had thought to take it along, but talked myself out of it, after all the times I have carried that camera over to my seat and not even pointed the thing, I lazily left it at home, that will teach me  :-(  Just to rub it in, a few moments later a pair of PEREGRINES (63) put on a display, not quite so near to me, but good enough for a record shot! They made it a fabulous five raptor species for the day  :-)

More of those Bluebells to end with