A SONGTHRUSH awoke me at 04:15hrs, the first dog was yapping at 06:00hrs and the first brush cutter was heard at 06:30hrs, normal quiet countryside dwelling then!
I spent until 11:00hrs carrying out a full patch walk this morning, by which time most living things had retired to the shade of the woods, however, before they hid themselves away, I recorded an average tally of bird species for a July visit - 43 in all. The highlight was watching only my second record this year of the LAPWING (60) as it flew over the Ashes Lane Fields, a once common winter visitor and passage bird in spring and early Autumn. The July list moves on to 60 now, still only in 13th place out of the 15 July's recorded.
Not much else was in the sky, a few SWIFTS, plus the local SWALLOWS, but not a single gull was seen flying over today. SPARROWHAWK, KESTREL and BUZZARD were all up hunting, the latter two species had young with them, a probable Hobby was also seen, but too briefly to confirm!
LINNET was added to this years ''Successfully Bred'' list, two recently fledged young were seen being fed by both parents along the hedgerow at Ashes Lane, another once common breeding species here, but it's now declined down to two breeding pairs at best.
Most of the regulars were seen or heard in the wooded parts of my patch, GOLDCREST, NUTHATCH, TREECREEPER, COAL TIT and BULLFINCH being the pick of those, with just Long Tailed Tit and Mistlethrush missing.
Nothing at all on the lakes, well, just the odd MOORHEN, the GREYLAG GEESE and CANADA GEESE were over at Migrant Alley grazing with the sheep :-)
A search for Dragonflies proved very disappointing, just a couple of White-legged Damselflies were seen with a lone Ruddy Darter, Butterflies were also around in only average numbers.
Gatekeeper Butterfly
Large White Butterfly. Slim pickings for the camera in such good conditions.......I feel a visit to a proper piece of habitat coming on!!
6 comments:
Oh dear Warren, you'll drive yourself insane one of these days with your inability to accept the noises and workings of the modern world. Work does start early on days like today, on Sheppey the combines were out by 6.30, trying to catch up with a lot of harvest work that had fell behind. I bet in reality your patch is really quiet against what many of us have to put up with day and night.
Derek.....even now, as I read your comment, the dog a few doors away is yapping away!!!
I have three houses opposite me, all with dogs that at times bark, especially when they're put out at 10.00 at night, I live with it. I also have a main road outside my bedroom windows. I'm an early riser and no doubt wake my neighbour up at times at 5.30 in the morning when I'm feeding my canaries and talking to my dogs and putting the weellie bin out but then he disturbs me when I'm in bed at 10.00 and he's still about. It's how modern day living is Warren, people do tend their gardens, do farm their land, do cut things down, do allow things to re-grow, do make noise - sorry mate.
Interesting you had only your second Lapwing record of the year today, whilst up here in't north I've seen at least 700 on the Lune Estuary today, with something like 5,000 still to come here as the autumn moves closer.
As for the noise pollution....There should be a law that says mutts should be muzzled for 12 hours between 10.00pm and 10.00am, no comment about the brush cutter, and the Song Thrush, well I don't subscribe to controlling nature to that extent.
Our post-breeding flocks of Lapwings have mostly moved away from the marshes here in Kent now as they start to dry out. We won't see any large flocks now until well into the autumn/early winter.
Pete,
I was in no way complaining about being woken by a Songthrush LoL !
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