A Quiet Afternoon Stroll

Around Yarner with the folks yesterday after all the fun of Saturday. It's late August; a lot of the migrants will be going/gone already, and the full leaf cover will hide the rest, so if you see more than a Blue Tit you'll be doing well, right?

Just have a nice wander among the green stuff, see if the deer have eaten all the Bilberries yet, and generally enjoy the quiet.

Thus indeed it went for the first hour or so. A large hawking dragonfly at the car park - it had some yellow, but that's all I got - was the chief excitement. Birds were primarily a couple of tit bands that were more heard than seen. Above all it was quiet! For a Sunday in August [ok, with dodgy weather by the coast, but we stayed dry] it was amazingly quiet - we heard one group, but that was it! Just the wind in the trees, the rustle of ants, and Tilly trying to go after all the deer and squirrels and ponies and things she could smell.....

Things changed as we dropped into the Hide valley. First it was Bullfinches, calling and being elusive [much to my Mum's frustration - she likes them a lot, but got no more than flight views..]. Then a very brief juvenile Pied Fly. A Treeeeecreeeeper showed well for me as I dropped back, trying to pinpoint a calling Marsh Tit. Then, as I was catching back up, a family party of Spot Flies collided with the large tit band the Treeeecreeeper was with as the Bullfinches flew over again. [Just like buses...] The trees above and around us were filled with activity - after all that quiet there was calling and movement everywhere, it was as if someone had turned Spring on!

Now came the icing - "Pipipipipi!" - Lesser Pecker! Over my head and into an oak - got it! A very nice female. :D Its always a joy to get more than the call and a silhouette from one of these little Houdinis, especially with the trees in full leaf! Unfortunately my parents were still a way ahead of me, and couldn't see her from where they were [by the time they got back to me she had naturally moved :( though they did get flight views], but the Spot Flies performed well - and when we got to the hide they did very well indeed - at least 4 messing about in the canopy, with an adult being chased by a very persistent juvenile and a couple of juvenile phyllosc.'s [probably Willows] about too.

Much better than expected - I'd idly considered having another go at the sea, oh I'm glad I didn't!