The Bird Thread

:(

Quite a day today as the change in the weather brought a lot of birds in on migration. So I had the first swift, common terns, wheatear, nightingale and reed warbler of the year plus a significant increase in swallows house and sand martins, sedge warblers and whitethroats. I hope to get out at first light and see what else has arrived.

Where are you (not exactly!) to see Marsh Harriers?!

Sussex/Kent borders right next to Romney MARSH! Curlews are quite common here, a flight of 13 went over earlier, I'm not sure if that is bad luck.

Ahhhh thanks - wasn’t sure if it would be able to see them within M25 ....a younger, fitter me could make the round trip to Romney Marsh, but not these days!

Similar route today, went to check on dead fox cub (gone), same spots as yesterday with the notable addition of:
Jackdaw
Wren
And what appears (looking at my rspb guide) to be a Goosander (spotted in the act of catching his dinner).
Really should get a camera.

First Cuckoo today

Marsh Harries are wonderful spots. They are spotted down at my closest marsh on the south coast.

Really want to get down there with the camera, but not sure if cycling to a marsh, then walking around with a camera is acceptable 'lockdown exercise'.

Feel like i'm missing so much at the moment.

On a positive, had some green finches on the feeders today, for the first time!

Tricky one this^

I have had several brisk morning walks as my daily exercise in recent weeks, but I almost always find myself pausing to look at things or listen to them.

https://soundcloud.com/user-143636955/riverside

I really don't think the filth are going to worry too much. How many people are you going to see there anyway?

Yeah probably true. Especially if I head down nice and early for sunrise.

This mornings garden birds.

Bluetits, including one with some hair. A starling on an aerial and a gold finch in the tree.

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Nice shots!

wormsign

Another early bird yesterday

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I added Bullfinch, Greenshank and Green Sandpiper to my lockdown list today.

Late to the Marsh Harrier chat. Saw a what I assume was pair doing their tumbling courtship over my house (Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire border) last year. Neighbours thought I’d gone potty, standing staring up into the sky! Probably around this time of year, actually (wish I'd noted it down!) - cloudless, blue sky, like this week. Should I keep an eye out again? No idea how likely they are to return to the same place.

Also loads of Skylarks in the fields out the back of here at about 4pm a couple of days ago. But none when I went for a run yesterday. Odd.

If you're close to good habitat then it's possible they would come back. April is roughly the time they start to breed.

Awesome. Probably missed them. But I shall keep an eye out (or up!), however unlikely it might be to catch another glimpse.

Migration plus easterlies often good news - twitchers are going to be livid - I guess "on my way to see a bluethroat" aint going to cut much mustard with traffic police on the M2 at the moment.

"on my way to see a bluethroat"

Saw a Bluethroat in Walthamstow last year. #csb

Similar has already happened up the road from DJ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-52047532

I can't imagine becoming so obsessed with something that it would take over my life like that... (looks at pile of bikes in garage...) Erm...

There's quite a few Ring Ouzels around our way at the moment. If I get time for a ride this week I may have to divert to see if I can find one (handily one is within the distance I would consider ok for a ride in my alloted 'exercise hour').

Few more blue tits around this morning, and a robin. Also got some doves resting on the toilet pipes.

I wish for some more exotic garden visitors.

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doves from below