Bl;ackcap Bounce

A busy week on the patch resulting a jump of 4 species to add to the patch list for the year. In the brief visits I managed in the week the first new year tick was in the form of the first 8 House Martins of the year over Town Street farm .Also of note on that day was a calling Curlew and a fine male Sparrowhawk.
I managed a quick blast onto the patch on Tuesday and Summer migrant numbers were still low but a flock of 6 Meadow Pipits  over to the north  were a surprise .A good garden tick came in the form of 2 rather juicy and sexy looking garden Bullfinch, the first for a few weeks now.
So Wednesday brought me one of the best birds that pass through in the spring and summer in the form of a fine looking male Wheatear which spent two days on a bare field just above the cottage before moving on .
So by the time Saturday arrived Willow and I were hitting the patch by 6.30am and it was obvious that there had been a fall of birds around the area.
The first bird we heard was a calling Green Woodpecker and it was kept company by a drumming Greater Spotted which was nearby.
The most plentiful bird of the day was 13 plus Blackcap which seemed to have arrived in force ,birds were singing from hedges trees and even the smallest areas of cover. Chiffchaffs had crept up a little with 7 plus been seen or heard and its close cousin the Willow Warbler numbered 2 .
A good bird to see were the 3 Lesser Whitethroat which kept the still low numbers of Whitethroats (2)  company .
Overhead 6 plus Swallow passed over and there were 7 House Martins over Town Street farm, still no passing Sand Martins yet though .
On the pastures were 2 Red Legged Partridge , one of which posed nicely on a fence post for awhile.4 Skylarks praised the heavens but their numbers seem down on last year . However Stock Doves seem to have increased on the patch as far as breeding birds are concerned.
A nice surprise was an over flying Little Egret which headed towards the river meadows from where the best sign of spring was heard in the form of a calling Cuckoo ,later on another Cuckoo passed over head flying strongly north .A great tick for the year and proof that spring has arrived.
The final sight of note was that of a Lapwing which moved north .That is very late sighting for this species on the patch even though they are at Coombe Hill Meadows and sometimes Ashleworth Ham both which are close to here.
On the raptor front just a single Buzzard today.
So Sunday dawned and I was full of hope that even more birds would of been dropped upon us, but alas it was not to be, but that been said the walk was not without its merits as the patch will always give you something to see.
A search of the hedgerows found 11 plus Chiffchaff ,so a few more than yesterday ,still 2 Willow Warblers ,both which are singing from the same areas as yesterday . Blackcaps numbered 10 plus today and there were 3 Whitethroats but no Lesser today. The best bird however was a singing Yellowhammer on the edge of the patch ,a bird which is sadly lacking from around here.
Overhead a few Swallows moved over but they numbered only 4 plus and 3 House Martins were still around Town Street farm. A surprise was a nice flock of 8 migrant Linnet which kept our resident pair company briefly. Winter still lingered in the form of 2 Meadow Pipits which sprang from the long grass ,both headed northwards quickly.
Around the feet of the cattle 3 Pied wagtails fed and 2 Red Legged partridges called from cover. The 4 Skylarks kept singing their heads off. Stock Doves numbered 10 today.
From the river meadows called a distant Cuckoo .
The raptor front came up trumps today with 6 Buzzard a female Kestrel and the 68th species of the year in the form of a superb Red Kite which drifted north just after midday.
The best of the rest were the usual Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker.
So a busy week on the patch finishes and I expect a few more summer migrants will hopefully arrive next week, so Binos at the ready me thinks.

So It Begins

After reading all week of large arrivals of summer migrants the patch has been fairly quiet, although Wednesday was enlivened by the return of one the best birds around here .The sound of the Curlew means that the spring has arrived in nearby river meadows. A few pairs manage to hang on down by the river so when I heard one calling it meant our species list jumped to 62 for the year.
 Other birds of note over the last week were a small passage of Willow Warblers with some singing near the cottage ,a vocal Little Owl in the early hours of Thursday morning . Blackcaps were noticeable with their song being the first  heard from the cottage since last spring. The last vestiges of winter were seen in the form of 4 Meadow Pipits on Wednesday, they will no doubt be the last ones until Autumn beckons once again .
 So it was not until Sunday was I able to get out with Willow so we were out by 7am. The walk started quietly enough and I was beginning to think how hard patch birding was especially with the plethora of birds being so near by ,but we persisted and a good search of the bushes and hedgerows resulted in the fact that a good number of Blackcaps had arrived and a good count of 9 plus been had ,the highest of the Spring so far this year. Chiffchaffs had arrived in smaller numbers but a high count of the  Spring this year was had with 6 plus. More will arrive in both cases in the next few days that's for sure.
A familiar song caught my ear and it resulted in finding the first 2 Common Whitethroat ( number 63 )   of the year. As I carried on the song of the Willow warbler rang out ,but in the event it was the only one of the day. A contrast against the last few days previous .
I searched an area in the hope of finding a Wheatear on one of the bare fields but to no avail ,but in one of the nearby hedges the rattle of the first of the Springs Lesser Whitethroat ( number 64 ) caught my attention.
I started to give some attention to what might be passing over and a nice count of 10 plus Swallow  zipped over. A little Egret passed towards the river meadows as did a small party of 3 Greylag geese. Aside from that the skies were a blank and I had hoped for a few birds been seen given the clouds that had been lacking over the last few days.
 On the pastures 2 Red Legged Partridges broke cover ,and a small count of just 4 Skylarks sang out. We do however seem to have our Linnets back with at least a couple of pairs around and 6 other birds passing over no doubt migrants just passing through on the way north . 8 Stock doves were around their usual haunts and a unseen Raven gronked , as if to advertise its presence.
A drumming Greater Spotted Woodpecker was heard as was at least 2 Green Woodpeckers ,their calls ringing across the patch .
On the raptor front just 2 Buzzards both were worming on a bare field. So we seem to rolling on the Spring bird front and I cannot wait to see what turns up over the next few days.

An overdue update.

Its been two weeks since I updated the blog so sorry for the break in proceedings, life gets in the way sometimes ! .Last week was notable for just 3 things the lack of migrants in comparison to elsewhere, the addition of the 59 th species of the year for the patch in the form of a stunning male Yellowhammer and cracking view of a Little Owl in the daytime. I have to also confess that I have succumbed to the delights of Ashleworth Ham with its Garganey ,Cranes Swallows and Sand Martins. Its sometimes nice to have a little bit of east birding as patch birding can sometimes be soul destroying  (its also worth mentioning that I missed a Great Grey Shrike at Ashleworth as I was working ).
So Saturday was a different kettle of fish after a warm dry week with blustery showers a gusty wind and  a cooler feel to than of late.  As we finished our walk the weather was in a better frame of mind.
 Willow and I were out to find some summer migrants this morning as everywhere appeared to have been awash with birds this past week.
A good search of the hedges and bushes did find a slight increase in Chiffchaffs with 7 today and the best bird for me today was the first singing Willow Warbler of the year. Number 60 in the bag for the year. A surprise was the lack of Blackcaps they seem to late in arriving on the patch this year and so far we have had just a couple of birds pass through .
There did seem to be a bit of overhead passage and the first Linnets for months passed over with 25 plus this morning ,a  flock of 20 was nice to see. A small number of Meadow Pipits were on the deck with 6 this morning and its always a special moment when the first Swallows appear on the patch with 2 zooming through northwards .( 61 species ticked). .
On the pastures 10 Stock Doves were dotted about and at least 8 plus Skylarks were in fine voice. Its nice to report a Mistle Thrush at this time of year so maybe we have a pair in the vicinity or it could of been a migrant bird.
A Red Legged Partridge was heard but not seen and a Jay was seen near to the cottage. There were also a unruly gang of around 30 plus Lesser Blacked Backed and Herring Gulls on pastureland.
It was a good day on the raptor front with a female Kestrel, 2 Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk which was mobbed by the local Jackdaws.
The final birds of note were 2 Pied Wagtail at a nearby farm site
So we are at 61 species for the year so far and in  the next couple of weeks we can hope for it the jump up a bit. Heres hoping