Tuesday 30 April 2013

I made full patch walk to end April, a 9 hour visit was possible today from 06:00hrs onwards, when it was still and frosty, leading then to a day of patchy cloud with a cool North wind.

It feels like the past few days have been spent just waiting for something to happen on my patch, and today at last it did  :-)  My first REED WARBLER (91,76) of the year was found in the tiny patch of Phragmites reeds that grows by one of the ponds in the College Grounds, Reed Warblers are a good species to find on my patch, especially in spring, and todays bird was the first that has occurred in the month of April, making it the earliest seen on my patch, just to buck the trend in this year of late arrivals!

The excitement continued, when a little later, as I walked the Greenhouse grounds, I at last heard the call of a LESSER WHITETHROAT (92,77) the bird showed for a brief moment, then moved north, and was not heard again, I wonder if it will return to breed here ? I hope so, don't want to loose another breeding species on the patch.

Moments later I was scanning the Ashes lane Field ( the ex-Tree Nursery, remember ?) and was pleased to see the WHEATEAR pair had remained, their fourth day on my patch, as I watched them I heard a YELLOW WAGTAIL fly over - this is better I thought  :-)

A couple of hours were spent around the Small Holding, Wet Woods and Scrubby Woods, where as well as the regularly seen species, I added a LITTLE OWL from the Small Holding and a TAWNY OWL from the Scrubby Woods which hooted in reply to a SONGTHRUSH mimicking the Ke-wick call of a female Tawny Owl !

The already good visit got better in the afternoon, when during a skywatch from my usual perch at Migrant Alley, a pair of MUTE SWANS (78) flew over, and a PEREGRINE (79) did likewise, eventually alighting on the tower at Hadlow village. These two species brought the months list to 79 species, not only a record April tally, but also a record tally for any month previously recorded on my patch, 80 species may well have been passed if only the Turtle Dove ans Swift had arrived on their Median dates! The 12 year combined April list, having been incremented by the Reed Warbler, now stands at 106 species. The Mediterranean Gull, Marsh Harrier and Goosander were other species seen this month that were 'firsts' for any April.

A huge daylist of 54 species was recorded today, and with tomorrows '60 species in a day' patch challenge being undertaken, I wonder if I have peaked to early, we shall see! I'll be out from dawn till late afternoon, 12 hours minimum, I dont expect to reach 60 species, but it will be fun trying, any where past 55 will be an excellent effort for my patch  :-)

Whilst at home waiting for the grocery shopping to be delivered, I saw the first fledgling BLACKBIRD in my garden, exactly a year to the day when last years was first recorded :-)
Photo's from the day include ;
Male HOUSE SPARROW, not a common bird here any more  :-(
Male House Sparrow
Female House Sparrow - mate of the above  :-)
SWALLOW
Yet another Long Tailed Tit image - I cant resist!
I had my butterfly lens on this afternoon, and made a better job of photographing the Orange Tip, almost got it all in focus, I need more practice with my extension tube  :-)  ( couldn't get the underwing Marc!)


Monday 29 April 2013

After some initial showery rain first thing this morning, the sky soon cleared and it became sunny and clear.

As Yesterday, I was on the lookout for the overdue summer migrants, Lesser Whitethroat, Turtle Dove, garden warbler and Swift, but again, despite a five hour morning visit and another two hours out this afternoon they were not forthcoming  :-(  Only one day left now this month to find some or all of them, only once out of the past eleven years have Lesser Whitethroat and Swift not turned up in April.

The long staying WHEATEAR pair were still on the Tree Nursery Field, which shall from now on be known as the Ashes lane field, so I hope you're paying attention  :-)  Whilst at the Scrubby Woods, not finding the mentioned summer migrants, I counted the singing BLACKCAPS which are on territories there, recording a minimum of six, I also counted three CHIFFCHAFFS singing, but I suspect some have stopped singing now their partners on on eggs.

The adjacent lakes had nothing new on them, unless I count the visiting GREY HERON, so I just checked the COOT family, finding them feeding three young, I also checked up on the sitting GREYLAG GOOSE, she must be close to hatching young out soon  :-)

My visit to Migrant Alley again failed to turn up any of the summer migrants, so I had an hour long skywatch, which provided a few bits and pieces, single YELLOWHAMMER, SKYLARK, HOUSE MARTIN, LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL and 4 HERRING GULL, were of note, as well as the two local KESTRELS up hunting, plus a SPARROWHAWK and a BUZZARD. Whilst I sat watching the sky, a LITTLE OWL called from the Greenhouse Copse behind my seat, but better still was seeing my first Orange Tip butterfly of the year float by, can you believe my first sighting of this species last year was March 29th, a whole month earlier! Other flutters noted today were Peacock, Small White and Small Tortoiseshell.

Not much action for my camera today, just the Orange Tip and some ROOKS at Migrant Alley
My first Orange Tip of 2013. Not the best image, as I was using my 500mm lens!
Rook
Rook
Rook

Sunday 28 April 2013

After my blog post yesterday, I took a walk over to the newly harrowed Tree Nursery Field, where after a short while scanning the tilth, I found two smart WHEATEAR, very nice  :-)

This morning I was out by 06:00hrs, in some lovely sunshine and clear skies, but the price for that was a frost. I had four species in mind for the visit, Turtle Dove, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and maybe a flyover Swift. I went over to the Scrubby Woods, where one or two pairs of Turtle Dove possibly bred last year, on the way finding one of the Wheatear on the harrowed field.

I stood and listened for over an hour at the Scrubby Woods, moving from one spot to another, but no Turtle Doves were heard, nor any Garden warblers or Lesser whitethroats, the turtle Dove and Lesser Whitethroat are now 4 and 2 days respectively, later than their 11 year median first recorded date, but the Garden Warblers median arrival date here is the 3rd May, so not too surprising not to record one. Whilst listening I was able to confirm at least 4 BLACKCAP territories and 3 CHIFFCHAFF, but it is so unusual not to hear a Cuckoo here, in past years they have been almost annoying with their constant, loud calls drowning out everything else, I suppose I am recording the actual demise of this species as a breeding bird here now, to be added to the likes of Nightingale, Yellowhammer and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker  :-(

I moved on and tried the only other place where Turtle Dove and Lesser Whitethroat are found on my patch, the Wooded Headland at Migrant Alley, again I had to pass through the harrowed nursery, and saw that there were now two Wheatear, must have missed one earlier! I got to the Wooded Headland and spent half an hour listening, but again failed to hear any of my target species.

Next up was a 2 hour hour sky watch, and a couple of circuits of the pasture and paddocks at Migrant Alley, but the clear blue sky remained mostly empty, no swifts, their median arrival date for the past 11 years is 29th April so one could have been anticipated. The local SWALLOWS, ROOKS, JACKDAWS and WOOD PIGEONS were seen, along with a couple of HERRING GULLS and a LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL. Very little was found around the fields either, which by now were disturbed by the dreaded dog walkers, as well as stable girls and the farmer checking his sheep. LINNET, STARLING, PIED WAGTAIL and CARRION CROW were all that was recorded.

In a last gasp effort to find a Lesser Whitethroat I tried the Greenhouse Grounds, where a pair did once breed, and in some years odd birds have passed through, but again I failed in my quest, I did however find three maybe four Common Whitethroats  :-)

All a bit frustrating, as I only need two more new species this month to equal the best ever April species tally of 77,  I'll have another try tomorrow !
One of the Wheatear on the harrowed Tree Nursery field - i'll have to find another name for the field as it is no longer a tree nursery!
Linnet
Herring Gull
BLACKBIRD
Swallow
I took this GREAT TIT photo at home, I wanted to get a better view of that large 'tick' on the birds neck, it didn't seem to be hampering the bird to much though

Saturday 27 April 2013

Patchy cloud and sunny intervals followed an early frost this morning, but any warmth from the sun was attenuated by a cool northerly breeze.

I carried out a 6 hour full patch walk, in which exactly 50 species were recorded, but I failed to find a Mallard! A SISKIN at my garden feeding station, seen after my walk, made 51 for the day, a good day total, giving me hope for my ''60 in a day'' challenge on May 1st  :-)

Despite the good species tally there are not large numbers of birds about and birdsong is much curtailed, however there was some singing from the summer birds of CHIFFCHAFF, BLACKCAP, WHITETHROAT and the SWALLOWS overhead.

The most exciting find today was my first YELLOW WAGTAIL (90,75) of the year that flew over and alighted briefly on one of the paddocks at Migrant Alley, a day later than last years first sighting, and also just a day later that the 12 year median first sighting date.

All three of the regular raptor species turned out this morning, the KESTREL pair, a SPARROWHAWK and 3 soaring BUZZARDS, while flyovers from HERRING GULL, LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL, GREY HERON and surprisingly a LESSER REDPOLL ( my latest record ) all played their part in the rewarding day list.

The GREYLAG and possibly the CANADA GOOSE are still on nests over at the lakes, and the COOTS have 3 young still. More scarcer species for my patch recorded today were; BULLFINCH, SKYLARK, NUTHATCH, TREECREEPER, GOLDCREST, and COAL TIT.

Photo opportunities were few, but I got a couple to brighten the page
Herring Gull
Herring Gull
Whitethroat - with the obligatory piece of vegetation in the way!



Friday 26 April 2013

Peacock Butterfly, this photo was taken yesterday, in some lovely warm conditions
The wet weather this morning put payed to any early patch visit, and I had already organized an ''off patch'' trip to Sevenoaks Wildlife reserve for the afternoon, so my only patch visit concerned a a quick, late morning walk around the Paddocks and Wooded Headland at Migrant Alley.

The temperature had dropped from 23c yesterday to just 12c today, that and the time of day, made for a very quite walk indeed. Only a couple of CHIFFCHAFFS and a BLACKCAP called from the Wooded Headland, I had hoped for a Turtle Dove or Lesser Whitethroat, but they have still to arrive here. Five or six SWALLOWS zoomed very low over the paddocks, trying to glean the few insects that were about, and the pair of WHITETHROAT called from the Greenhouse Grounds as I passed on my way back home but that was it for the summer birds - a bit disappointing  :-(

The afternoon visit to Sevenoaks reserve was again cool and showery,  but of the 49 species seen, I did record my first Reed Warbler this year, also a Common Sandpiper and at least 4 Little Ringed Plovers. A Redshank seen there was apparently a bit of a rarity for this reserve :-)

Back on patch early tomorrow - weather permitting, when hopefully one or two more summer species will have arrived.



Thursday 25 April 2013

I was out from 06:00hrs until 11:30hrs this morning, doing the rounds on my patch, on a day in which the weather got warmer and sunnier as the day went on  :-)

The hunt for summer migrant species was again high on my agenda, and although no new species had arrived overnight, the WHITETHROAT along Ashes Lane has been joined by a further two, which were chasing about the Greenhouse Grounds. The only other arrivals concerned two WILLOW WARBLERS seen at the run off pool at the bottom of the Tree Nursery Field, no doubt they will be gone tomorrow, but at least I enjoyed stereo Willow warbler song for a while!

I did at least add one more species to the April list when a LESSER REDPOLL (74) flew over the Wooded Headland at Migrant Alley, a bit of a surprise as this species is normally a winter visitor and long gone by now, todays record is my latest by 4 days. The months list is now on 74, just 3 behind the record April of 2011, and is the 3rd best April tally out of twelve  :-)

Everything else here is much the same, although a look over at the lakes did confirm that there are 3 COOT chicks still alive and thriving, not just one as I feared yesterday, the GREYLAG GOOSE is still incubating on an island, and i'm sure there is a CANADA GOOSE also incubating just 10 feet away from it, but it is obscured from my view.

The only other noteworthy event of the day was watching 4 male BLACKCAPS in the Scrubby Woods, they were all singing from practically the same branch, trying to impress a nearby female, the mass choir of Blackcaps certainly impressed me!

I was luckier with the camera today and got the following shots  :-)
Displaying STARLING
Starling
One of the newly arrived Whitethroats at the Greenhouse Grounds
Whitethroat
One of the Willow Warblers at the run off pool
Willow Warbler

Wednesday 24 April 2013

A dense fog enveloped my patch first thing this morning, but once it cleared it left a decent amount of sunshine, with just a few bits of patchy cloud.

In all I spent a little over 8 hours out in the field, covering most parts of my patch, but concentrated mainly on the Scrubby Woods and Migrant Alley, however, despite all that time out, not one new spring migrant was seen  :-(

CHIFFCHAFFS, BLACKCAPS, SWALLOWS and just one WHITETHROAT are the only spring birds on my patch at the moment, other than than that the 49 species seen today were all the regular or semi regular species that can be found here.

I found a TREECREEPER nest in the Wet Woods, and watched the adult bring nesting material in, and I also watched a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER excavating its nest hole. A SPARROWHAWK flew into the woods whilst I was there carrying a prey item, it called as it did so, and I may have identified its nest, I need to investigate further  :-)

Not much else to excite really, BUZZARD and KESTREL were the only other raptors seen, despite some long sky watching sessions, which produced HERRING and LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS, as well as a YELLOWHAMMER of note. Two LITTLE OWLS were seen, one at the run off pool where a dead walnut tree supplies nest holes, the other was in the Small Holding, there could well be three pairs on my patch this year, as there is at least one bird in the Greenhouse Copse.

BULLFINCH, COAL TIT, LONG TAILED TIT, NUTHATCH, GOLDCREST, and the already mentioned Treecreeper all showed up today, they don't always oblige. Whilst on the lakes today there were 4 MOORHEN, 5 MALLARD 6 CANADA GEESE and 4 GREYLAG GEESE, as well as the COOT pair, with which I only saw one chick  -  lets hope the other two are also about somewhere.

There wasn't much for the camera today, I found a few Comma's and they obliged, but the only other butterflies were my first Small White this year, and another tantalizing fly past from a Brimstone!
Bluebells have just started to bloom in the Wet Woods

An 'old Comma' still awaiting the new batch  :-)
Greylag Goose on the lake

Greylag Goose



Tuesday 23 April 2013

I made a 3 and a half hour Full Patch walk this morning, when after some initial cloud, it turned sunny and warm - a joy to be out  :-)

During the visit a total of 46 species were recorded, no new migrant species were among them though, however the sunshine brought out some song from the ones that are here, CHIFFCHAFF, and BLACKCAP sang from the College Grounds, Wooded headland and Scrubby Woods, whilst SWALLOWS skimmed over the sheep pasture at Migrant Alley, where the only WHITETHROAT of the day was also seen in one of the hedgerows there.

Song from TREECREEPER and calls from NUTHATCH, as well as drumming from GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKERS were heard in the Wet Woods. On the lakes today 3 pairs of CANADA GEESE were present, with the 2 pairs of GREYLAG GEESE, the COOT pair were feeding 3 young, and that's all that remain of the original 6.

BUZZARD, SPARROWHAWK, and KESTREL were seen on numerous occasions, and a LITTLE OWL was heard at the Small Holding ( another was seen in the Greenhouse copse on a subsequent short afternoon visit)

Peacock Butterfly and Large White Butterfly were added to the Butterfly list today, which totals 6 species for this year, while at my garden feeders a pair of SISKINS are still visiting  :-)

The shortened walk this morning was due to me having an ''off patch'' visit to Bough Beech resevoir later in the morning  :-)

Goodies encountered there were the likes of Tufted Duck, Shellduck, Shoveler Duck, Gadwall, Mandarin Duck, and Great Crested Grebe, most of which are very rarely encountered on my patch ! Also my first Lesser Whitethroat for the year was heard, as well as song from a Cuckoo. A Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat, a few Swallows and  House Martins were the only other summer migrants seen, in a very pleasant couple of hours out.

here's a few photo's of the day  :-)
This Grass Snake was in a hedge under a feeding station
Grass Snake
Long Tailed Tit
Coot
Mute Swan
Mute Swan

Monday 22 April 2013

I made several short visits to parts of my patch during today, in between improving my garden for wildlife  :-)

The first was at 06:00hrs, when a 90 minute look around Migrant Alley and the Greenhouse Complex was made, very little was new, but a WILLOW WARBLER singing at the Greenhouse Grounds was most certainly a passage bird. ROOKS, JACKDAWS, WOODPIGEONS and a small flock of 20-30 STARLINGS were on the sheep pasture and paddocks at Migrant Alley, but there were no passage migrant species to be found. SWALLOWS from the College Stables, as well as the private stables opposite my house, had gathered to feed around the fly ridden sheep - easy pickings  :-)  Overflying LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL, and 6 HERRING GULL were noted, as well as a GREY HERON.

On a subsequent patch visit, a little later in the morning, I went over to the Scrubby Woods and lake area, where I sat and listened, song from BLACKCAP, CHIFFCHAFF, BLACKBIRD, SONGTHRUSH, WREN, DUNNOCK, ROBIN, GREENFINCH, CHAFFINCH, COAL TIT and STOCK DOVE was heard, as well as calls from NUTHATCH, BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT, LONG TAILED TIT and GREEN WOODPECKER, a distant GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER drummed from the Wet Woods area. After about 10 minutes of listening, I finally heard the CUCKOO again, calling repeatedly, just off patch, but it did fly over giving me a nice view  :-)

On the lakes today, 6 CANADA GEESE carried on arguing noisily, and two pairs of GREYLAGS were present, one on nest sitting duties. Just one male MALLARD was seen, and a few skulking MOORHENS, while the COOT pair had separated to different parts of the lake, one of which I could see had two of the young, but I couldn't see any of the other 4 that were here on Saturday.

This afternoon I had a bit of a skywatching session, finding all the three regular Raptors up hunting, they being KESTREL, SPARROWHAWK and BUZZARD, but little else exciting was seen. I did a circuit of the paddocks again, but with the same result as this morning, mind you there had been lots of disturbance there, seen whilst I sat on my seat.

As I waked home, a WHITETHROAT was heard giving a bit of subdued song from the battered hedgerow along Ashes lane which borders the Tree Nursery Field, this was is all likely hood one that bred in the field last year, so it will have to move elsewhere now, probably off patch as there is little suitable habitat here now  :-(

46 species were seen today, not bad as I didn't do a full patch walk.
Rook
Blackcap - From my garden, this female is still feeding on the fat bar, shows just how few insects are about, despite it being late April.
This Dunnock is also finding my food easier to get than the insects!

Sunday 21 April 2013

After the initial chill of the early morning, the sun at last came good here at Pittswood, with no wind and not a cloud in the sky, I made my first full patch visit of the year without a wooly hat  :-)

My five hour visit only produced 44 bird species, well down on previous visits, with the likes of Jay, Treecreeper, and Pheasant not turning out today, as well as no sightings of the usual raptors, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, and Buzzard, which had not shown up by 11:00hrs, however one raptor that did show was my first HOBBY (89,73) of the year, it flew over Migrant Alley, then away to the SW.  Usually I have to wait until May to find these smart little falcons, this is only the third April sighting in the 12 years of watching my patch, with the Median first date being the 3 May.

The last of the winter species are still just about being found, a MEADOW PIPIT that flew over the newly ploughed Tree Nursery field is the second latest recorded, the latest being the 23rd April, also a pair of SISKIN were seen on my garden feeders during my half way stop, making these the latest Siskins seen.

A TAWNY OWL hooted a long quivering hoot over at the Scrubby Woods, where there was plenty of BLACKCAP and CHIFFCHAFF activity, these and the SWALLOWS seen over Migrant Alley were the only other summer birds that were seen today, the Willow warblers, Whitethroat and Cuckoo have all passed through.

Not much more was had to excite, the dawn chorus was very disappointing, in fact bird song throughout the visit was very patchy, but then nesting habitat is getting less and less here now  :-(
NUTHATCH in the Wet Woods - the first seen for a while
CHAFFINCH from my garden

Whilst I sat in my garden around midday, my first Brimstone Butterfly of this spring flew in, but didn't stay for a photo. My wait for my first Brimstone photograph goes on!

After lunch, I visited the redundant church that sits on the high ground to the NE of my patch, its graveyard is a wildlife haven, with many wildflowers amongst the old gravestones, and I spent some time photographing the Bee flies there, as well as a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly, frustration set in when another Brimstone came along and settled on some violets, I missed the photo by tenths of a second, the flutter flew just as my finger was on the shutter..........
View of my patch from the Church - you can make out the Greenhouse Complex some miles away.
Small Tortoiseshell
Bee Fly
Another Bee Fly

Saturday 20 April 2013

The sun shone brightly as I left the house at just before 06:00hrs this morning, but within the hour a thick blanket of fog rolled in, so off I went back home for tea and toast!

Forty minutes later, the fog had cleared, leaving a legacy of patchy cloud and sunny spells, so off I went once again, however I had lost the advantage of an early start to beat the dog walkers and the farmer moving his sheep from one field to another over at Migrant Alley  :-(

For much of the visit, it was a case of 'as you were'  with little changing from yesterdays walk, the Willow Warblers seen then had moved on today, but a few more BLACKCAPS have arrived, especially over at the Scrubby Woods, where I noted 3 males chasing a female, and another male singing loudly with a repertoire of Nightingale notes in its song, had me excited for a moment or two! CHIFFCHAFFS, TREECREEPER, COAL TIT, GOLDCREST, SONGTHRUSH, BLACKBIRD, CHAFFINCH, GREENFINCH, WREN, DUNNOCK and ROBIN were also heard to sing withing the Scrubby Woods, but then, at last the song came that I was waiting for - the CUCKOO (88,72) one flew low over giving its song twice, before heading off over to the nearby Golf course, its arrival being 6 days later than the 12 year Median date.

A quick check of the lakes showed nothing new, apart from an overflying pair of MANDARIN DUCKS, the COOTS are feeding their young and the GREYLAGS are still incubating, 3 pairs of CANADA GEESE squabbled as usual, and 1 pair of MALLARD drifted out on the main lake.

A return to Migrant Alley, to finish off the earlier visit there was pretty poor really, it's been a poor spring for exciting migrants on this usually productive area of my patch, it's just so disturbed now :-( but I did catch up with the WHITETHROAT in the Wooded Headland, with it were a few more Chiffchaff and a couple of singing Blackcaps.

An hour and a half on my sky watching seat at the end of the walk, in a cool NE breeze, provided a bit of interest, with BUZZARD, KESTREL and SPARROWHAWK all being given away to me by the alarm calls of the ever vigilant SWALLOWS, a couple of SKYLARKS sang as they passed over, and LESSER BLACK BACKED, BLACK HEADED and HERRING GULLS all flew past.

Back at home, I have re-instated a feeder in my garden and was surprised to see a SISKIN come to feed, this is the latest date I have recorded Siskin here by 7 days, the 12 year median last sighting for Siskin is the 27th March.

A decent enough daylist of 49 species were recorded, but it was just a tiny bit disappointing not to have added one more summer migrant species.
Male Blackcap, this is the one that had notes and phrases of Nightingale in his song
Wren -just using the normal notes of Wren song  :-)


Friday 19 April 2013

It stayed mostly cloudy for todays 5 hour full patch walk, a NW wind made it feel chilly, but at least it stayed dry whilst I was out.

Most of what could be expected turned out today, 49 species wasn't a bad return, just the Bullfinch was missed out of the regular birds normally seen. Three Gull species were noted, 4 of those were LESSER BLACK BACKED that fed on the pasture at Migrant Alley, along with 5 HERRING GULLS, a group of 6 BLACK HEADED GULLS flew over the sheep pasture there.

Of the summer arrivals it was good to find two WHITETHROATS, one in the Wooded Headland at the north end of the paddocks, with the other in a small patch of bramble on the edge of the College sports pitch. CHIFFCHAFFS were spread widely over most of the patch habitat, but a singing WILLOW WARBLER over at the lake side was more enjoyable to listen to. BLACKCAPS have increased from just 2 birds in the Scrubby Woods to at least 8 now. The only other summer birds noted today were the SWALLOWS, 6 were at the College Stables with 4 at the private stables opposite my house, alas, still no Cuckoo's  :-(

I checked up on the LONG TAILED TITS nest along Ashes lane, which is now almost finished, the other two nests I'm keeping an eye on were empty, but probably not abandoned just yet, they are the MISTLETHRUSH at the College Grounds and the CHAFFINCH in the wrecked hedgerow running along the Wooded Headland.

Other bits of note this morning were singing TREECREEPER in the Wet Woods, where a NUTHATCH called, and a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER drummed. The COOTS on the Lake have 5 of their six young still going, and the feral BARNACLE GOOSE was seen in the sheep pasture next to the Tree Nursery, keeping company with two CANADA GEESE. Flyovers were few, but notable were a pair of GREY HERONS and a SPARROWHAWK, the only other raptors today were the KESTREL pair hunting at the Greenhouse Grounds, where I am informed they are nesting in a box provided for them - i'll have to investigate that further!

Nothing much for the camera today - just a few garden bird images, taken this afternoon whilst I was waiting for a workman to fit our water meter  :-)

Tomorrow we are promised some sunshine, but will it be windless and warm ? 
DUNNOCK
GREENFINCH
Chaffinch