Photos:
Male and female Whinchats, Garden Warbler, Redstart, Wheatear and Pied Flycatcher at Barbondale
Sunday 12th June
Headed off to Barbondale this morning with Bill. It was a lovely sunny morning, a definite improvement on yesterday. As soon as I got out of the car I started seeing birds everywhere – list of species seen below:
2 Cuckoos (both males) 8 Redstarts (6 males, female and juvenile) 2 Pied Flycatchers (male and female) 3 Whinchats (2 males and female) 4 Ravens over 2 Crows (presumably juveniles) entertained by trying to catch Meadow Pipits in flight! 4 Buzzards 3, poss 4 Kestrels Green Woodpecker Great Spotted Woodpecker Tree Pipit 10 Wheatears 2 Blackbirds (both males) Mistle Thrush 2 Reed Buntings 2 Garden Warblers (males) Grey Wagtail 6 Pied Wagtails (pair plus 4 juveniles) 16+ Willow Warblers (inc adult feeding 2 juveniles) 4 Swifts 8 Swallows 11 House Martins
I simply stood and watched from various vantage points along the path as birds went about their business. I suspect nearly all of them are feeding young as nothing stood still for long. This made digiscoping a pain - I lost count of the number of times I set the scope up and got ready to shoot only to find the target had moved!
I spent most of the time watching a scattering of half a dozen small trees. A Whinchat would perch in one only to get pushed off by a Redstart which in turn would be pushed off by a Wheatear. The Whinchat would then reappear somewhere else and the merry-go-round would start again! It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning.
At the van today a male Sparrowhawk dashed around the park and a Buzzard intruded and upset the local Jackdaws while a Kestrel hovered over the field to the south. There was also a build up of Lesser Black-backed Gulls there with 134 in the field.
It rained after that so we headed off home. This evening I took Bill to HGF. The Great Crested Grebe is still incubating and one of the other nests has yet again been rebuilt – the owners were busy threatening one of two juvenile Grey Herons which had strayed too close. There were 18 Great Crested Grebes present this evening – I think the highest count this year. Also present was a smattering of aythya ducks with 10 Tufted Ducks and a drake Pochard floating in the middle – a prelude to the usual summer moult build up. A Kestrel, the now usual pair of Canada Gesse and some Pied Wags completed the pool-side line up. In the south field one of the Lapwings was sheltering a juvenile. I hope this one survives – nearly all the others have disappeared to date. Juvenile Coal Tit in the garden this evening.
Headed off to Barbondale this morning with Bill. It was a lovely sunny morning, a definite improvement on yesterday. As soon as I got out of the car I started seeing birds everywhere – list of species seen below:
2 Cuckoos (both males) 8 Redstarts (6 males, female and juvenile) 2 Pied Flycatchers (male and female) 3 Whinchats (2 males and female) 4 Ravens over 2 Crows (presumably juveniles) entertained by trying to catch Meadow Pipits in flight! 4 Buzzards 3, poss 4 Kestrels Green Woodpecker Great Spotted Woodpecker Tree Pipit 10 Wheatears 2 Blackbirds (both males) Mistle Thrush 2 Reed Buntings 2 Garden Warblers (males) Grey Wagtail 6 Pied Wagtails (pair plus 4 juveniles) 16+ Willow Warblers (inc adult feeding 2 juveniles) 4 Swifts 8 Swallows 11 House Martins
I simply stood and watched from various vantage points along the path as birds went about their business. I suspect nearly all of them are feeding young as nothing stood still for long. This made digiscoping a pain - I lost count of the number of times I set the scope up and got ready to shoot only to find the target had moved!
I spent most of the time watching a scattering of half a dozen small trees. A Whinchat would perch in one only to get pushed off by a Redstart which in turn would be pushed off by a Wheatear. The Whinchat would then reappear somewhere else and the merry-go-round would start again! It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning.
At the van today a male Sparrowhawk dashed around the park and a Buzzard intruded and upset the local Jackdaws while a Kestrel hovered over the field to the south. There was also a build up of Lesser Black-backed Gulls there with 134 in the field.
It rained after that so we headed off home. This evening I took Bill to HGF. The Great Crested Grebe is still incubating and one of the other nests has yet again been rebuilt – the owners were busy threatening one of two juvenile Grey Herons which had strayed too close. There were 18 Great Crested Grebes present this evening – I think the highest count this year. Also present was a smattering of aythya ducks with 10 Tufted Ducks and a drake Pochard floating in the middle – a prelude to the usual summer moult build up. A Kestrel, the now usual pair of Canada Gesse and some Pied Wags completed the pool-side line up. In the south field one of the Lapwings was sheltering a juvenile. I hope this one survives – nearly all the others have disappeared to date. Juvenile Coal Tit in the garden this evening.
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