Ok, who turned Summer on??
Here I am in the middle of the day in early April, sheltering from the blazing insolation like it's August or something..?!? Summer pattern birding has been the order of the days - out early, back in, then out again late on. More or less.
After two days of interviews, [with a little Patch-bashing around the edges], the best to report being a Grey Wag and my first House Martins of the year [both in Newton], I spent a day wandering about my favourite bit of birding Moor. The sun shone like nobody's business [hit 20 degrees up there..], so much so that I was rather disconcerted to not find the birds you'd expect in summer - Cuckoos, Redstarts and Spot Flys were notably absent. It's a strange situation, your brain says 'Its too early', but the weather says 'They should be here'. Especially the Cuckoos. There was an early Whinchat [one had been reported the day before, but I admit I was a little skeptical] and a very nice if very brief Ring Ouzel [passing through, alas]. LOTS of Wheatears - 8 on one corner of wall, for example - were mostly probably moving through also, though the Willow Warblers would be staying. Siskin performing display flights, Redpoll and the bizarre sight of a stonking male Crossbill landing in a Willow beside me [While I was innocently enjoying a cup of coffee, too. Darn near spilled it!] made it a very nice day. Managed to get the odd bit to myself, even - not that there weren't people, but they were well spread out. [[Though the two brown labs who flushed the Ouzel when I had just gotten position on it did display exquisitely bad timing.. :( ]]
Yesterday, a determined attempt to add Whitethroat and Garden Warbler to the Patch Yearlist failed spectacularly, though the number of Blackcaps singing here is very encouraging. Despite them having arrived up and down the coast, the Nose proved barren of the perky little sylvias - much muttering ensued, blaming TCCT for so thoughtfully destroying the two best nest sites... Ahem. Only found a single Willow Warbler, too. These things happen - I took it philosophically.
Today I was up even earlier and pulled a coastal run from the northern edge of my Patch to the Nose. 16 singing Blackcaps, 24 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers and at last a Garden Warbler! Better yet, as I had a look at the Top Dell the distinctive sound of a singing Whitethroat! :) The little git dived into a bush and didn't come out of course, but en-heartened I headed down to the Lower Slope and sure enough one popped out of the charred remains of a gorse bush. Yes! Before I could finish celebrating a falcon zipped past - Holy Shit its a Hobby!!!! What a one-two... I daftly* ran up the slope and tried to get a view to the north, but it was long gone. I am so chuffed about this bird. They pass through in the Spring and in the Autumn but I've never managed to see one on my Patch before - not that surprising as they don't hang about [literally or metaphorically!].
[[*As I well know, you can't get a decent view up the coast once you leave the road until you get to the bottom, due to trees and bushes.]]
In the past I've watched hirundines flying up the coast [[Not this year, yet, though :( ]], and the Hobbys do tend to follow them about [can't think why...?]. It may well turn up at Exminster this afternoon [rate it was going, it'd probably be there by now!], or be on the Levels tomorrow with all the others. Makes you wonder what will fly over next - Osprey, Red Kite, Black Stork...??
;)
PYL: 107
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