More Spring ... and some of the results

Even though we're still seeing wet days, there's no doubt that Spring is now in full swing. Indeed, there are some signs of Summer (sshhh... don't say it too loudly). The reed beds have been full of loud scolding rattles as Sedge Warblers stake their claim for territory. While they are often heard, usually if they're seen at all it is as a fast-moving blur dashing through the reeds. Here's two snatched shots, note the prominent white eyebrow (supercilium, to use the technical term).

 

Other migrant visitors include these flycatchers. The first a Pied Flycatcher, seen at Penyschant, near Conwy, and well worth a visit for a quiet few hours. These were seen flying in pairs at high speed around and through trees, the female playing 'catch me if you can' with the male. The second is a Spotted Flycatcher, seen at Pagham Harbour, darting from it's branch to hover almost like a hummingbird as it plucked flies from the air, and then back to it's perch.



Other birds are resident all year round, but still make a pleasing sight. This a Goldfinch rummaging through the grass for seeds.

The grey Heron is also a resident, and a firm favourite of mine. This one trying his best to do a 'Darth Vader' impression early one morning.

Spring of course means one thing: lots of squeaking, squawking, quacking, and flapping of wings. This particularly indiscreet couple were flagrantly performing at Arundel WWT.

Obviously they weren't the only ones as all around the grounds there were signs of new life. Goslings, Coot and Moorhen chicks. One proud Mallard Mum even took her chicks for a tour of one of the hides

And if you think it's just the birds at it, here's some lambs too!

And as the month has moved on, we've started getting Summer visitors too, Swallow, Swifts and Martins joining the throng. This Swallow was also inspecting the inside of a bird hide, making for an easy photo, while the following Swift was much harder work, needing dozens of shots to get one passable view.

 A trip to the Great Orme was worth all the Bank-holiday traffic problems when it yielded Chough's, an uncommon member of the corvid family, related to rooks, crows etc.

 And sea-level has provided some new birds too, this a Common Tern, posing on a fence post at one of the pools at Arundel WWT.

 Arundel also provided this shy little Mandarin duck, tucked away in a wooded area. Is this an escapee from the 'captive' part of WWT, or a genuine wild bird? Don't know! Either way, it was a very pleasant sight.

Nearer to home, RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands also delights. This Wood Sandpiper dropped in for a morning visit, causing quite a stir - it should have already been up in it's Artic breeding grounds, another casualty of the late spring.

 Also at Burton Mere, this Willow Warbler delighted with some lovely views, including this one with flies caught in it's beak.

 Again at Burton Mere, we were treated to a visit by a stunning female Marsh Harrier. Unfortunately the Black-headed Gulls took exception to her presence, and mobbed her across the reserve.

And finally, I finish again with another common bird, but I couldn't resist the pose of this Chaffinch, this taken at Frodsham Marshes.

All the best intentions....

Here was the plan - to update the blog every week, keep it well up to date.

<Sigh>

Alas, just don't seem to get the time - mainly because we've been out so many evenings, looking for all the Spring migrants that have finally begun to arrive... So it's been your loss, and our gain!

Anyway, got home fairly early tonight, so out we went. Along a lane with grass fields on one side, and static caravans on the other, leading then to a path alongside some horse paddocks just back from the coast.

The walk brings the usual suspects; chaffinchs in the trees, robins in the hedgerow. Then comes a frustration. It's not unusual for us to be frustrated, I just record it so you're under no illusions; birdwatching means loads of frustrations! This one was a long, loud, and sustained bout of clicking from a half-dead peice of hedge, almost like a grasshopper, but far too loud for an insect, and lower in pitch. We'd heard the same two nights before just half a mile away. The most likely culprit is the aptly named Grasshopper Warbler.

We watch, we wait. The call stops, and doesn't restart. There's a hint of movement at the base of the hedge. A pair of dunnocks fly in and tease us, but nothing else appears. Time passes, and we eventually move on. Was it a Grasshopper Warbler? Probably. The sound is pretty distinctive, and possible alternatives are even rarer. One has been reported a few miles away. Yet we didn't see the bird itself; it remains elusive...

A few minutes later, a hundred yards or so further, and we are trested to the sight of Goldfinches and Willow Warblers flitting through the trees, quickly and unceasingly searching for food. Nice. Not unusual, but pleasing to see.

Another three or four hundred yards and we are beside the paddocks, and we hear a loud repeated 'huiit' call from the hedgerow ahead. We scan the leaves ahead, when suddenly there's a black shadow flitting down to the floor, and then from underneath the dark there is a flash of red; the underneath of this delightful little bird positively glows. A male Redstart in all his glory.

Minutes pass, and the light begins to fade. Gradually the Redstart moves further and further away, and we have to begin our journey home.

So there we are; In one journey Frustration and Delight. In many ways we are fortunate - as relative beginners we are seeing many birds for the first-time, and so we are still being reewarded by the 'buzz' of finding something new. Only last week we saw three new birds in one afternoon. This week has brought another two. For more-experienced watchers the ratio of frustration to reward is much higher, yet still they are out there, in weathers, often at strange hours, always hoping for a glimpse of something out of the ordinary. Addictive stuff, this birding....  And that's why we've been too busy to write !!