As voted for by the safari today’s bird of the day is…fanfare of trumpets…the Great Tit. For some reason they seemed to be far more noticeable today. Several singing males (if tee-cherr tee-cherr can be called singing) and a pair doing a chase me - chase me through the bushes. The male Sparrowhawk was doing the rounds again being seen a couple of times on Patch 1 but no sign of the Peregrines this morning, musta been a one-off visit yesterday. Took some habbo pics for you to get an idea of the rough bit of ground that holds more wildlife than the park proper and a moody sunrise shot of the Golden Triangle, not that you can see much of it.
These next two pics are the habbo at the end of the houses at the unoffical entrance to the park - again this small area has more wildlife than the park proper and is the site of our White Letter Hairstreak butterflies. First pic is lookng south 
This second pic is the same area from the other end looking north - you can just make out the yellow flowers of the Forsythia bush by the path.
Patch 2 pre-work was the best so far this year with a Rook beadling about on the roadside being a complete surprise and walking tick #70. The tide was in and with only a hint of an offshore breeze the sea was flat calm, high hazy light cloud made viewing conditions about as perfect as it is possible to get. The (almost) warmth enabled the longest watch so far this year. Eight Common Scoters sat a few hundred yards offshore, another 11 flew south in the distance. Whilst watching them we picked up a flash or two of white – Little Gulls, 14 of them in all and joined by at least six Kittiwakes. A Gannet flew south behind them and several minutes later there were three more, one dived and was sat on the sea for a few minutes. Whilst scoping the sea our ears were open for any hint of passerine passage overhead…one Goldfinch and one Meadow Pipit was all that was heard…marvelous! We could do with connecting with one of the many Lesser Redpolls that have been going over all the other coastal sites this last week or so. Not connected with a genuine White Wagtail yet either.
And STILL no Cetaceans…but if this mild rain-free weather keeps up the moth trap might well see its first action of the year.
These next two pics are the habbo at the end of the houses at the unoffical entrance to the park - again this small area has more wildlife than the park proper and is the site of our White Letter Hairstreak butterflies. First pic is lookng south This second pic is the same area from the other end looking north - you can just make out the yellow flowers of the Forsythia bush by the path.Patch 2 pre-work was the best so far this year with a Rook beadling about on the roadside being a complete surprise and walking tick #70. The tide was in and with only a hint of an offshore breeze the sea was flat calm, high hazy light cloud made viewing conditions about as perfect as it is possible to get. The (almost) warmth enabled the longest watch so far this year. Eight Common Scoters sat a few hundred yards offshore, another 11 flew south in the distance. Whilst watching them we picked up a flash or two of white – Little Gulls, 14 of them in all and joined by at least six Kittiwakes. A Gannet flew south behind them and several minutes later there were three more, one dived and was sat on the sea for a few minutes. Whilst scoping the sea our ears were open for any hint of passerine passage overhead…one Goldfinch and one Meadow Pipit was all that was heard…marvelous! We could do with connecting with one of the many Lesser Redpolls that have been going over all the other coastal sites this last week or so. Not connected with a genuine White Wagtail yet either.
And STILL no Cetaceans…but if this mild rain-free weather keeps up the moth trap might well see its first action of the year.
Patch 2 at lunchtime was a brief spell of uselessness. The tide was well out making the sea a long way away and terrribly hazy too. The beach was empty of birds but full of people and dogs...doh holiday season can be a nightmare.
Where to next? Light southeasterlies with a little overnight cloud could make the cliffs favourite for tomorrow morning, assuming big Frank wakes up in time...unlike last week and the Osprey dip...still haven't forgiven him!!!
In the meantime let us know if it was surprisingly better than expected in your outback today.
3 comments:
checked out you habitat Dave, looks good for larks and mipits, the odd chat or Wheatear ?
I agree with your observation about Greti. More about/singing in the last two days - looks like they have been elsewhere too.
FINALLY back online and catching up. I hope you see some cetaceans on your surveys - I look forward to hearing about those.
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