birdman
Sunday 22nd June 2003, 14:52
Well, for one reason or another, I haven't been able to get out for more than a week. Frustrating at the best of times, but when you can see you patch form your home, then grrrrrrrrr!!!!
Partnyorsha and I left the house at just about 8am, onto a surprisingly breezy and cloudy morning. First up as usual was a Skylark, and although things got off to a slow start today, there seemed, eventually, to be hundreds of them.
Swifts and House Martins were also evident again, and an early Magpie.
We were treated (!) to a pair of House Sparrows. Like most Brits, I'm finding these little fellas increaisngly hard to track down, and this is only my second Outback sighting.
The pond area was quiet, no obvious Whtiethroats or Yellowhammers, so, for a change, we deviated from our "normal" route, and headed off through the "Kestrel" field. (If you haven't already done so, you may want to refer to the Map (www.birdforum.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5760).)
This took us through the small wooded area, where there was a little activity, but most unseen by us!
Heading back towards our "normal" route, we passed a disused "garage", with a few associated concrete blocks or former buildings. (These are not marked on the Map!). Close by are a few gorse bushes, which were extremely busy! Numerous LBJs, including Tree Pipit (an id based on the previous Tree Pipit I have ided Outback, and the incorrect, as I understand, distinctions betwenn Tree and Meadow Pipit in Mitchell Beazley!).
We were also blessed with 2 new additions here. A Linnet, which came and went a few times, and a Greenfinch, which popped in just once, but hung around for five minutes or so. Both were dressed in there best bib and tucker!
After 15 or 20 minutes studying the gorse bushes, we continued on our clockwise route, and picked up our solitary Whitethroat of the day, in a shrub next to the root crop field. We could also hear a Yellowhammer in the distance, and although we got closer, we never did track him down.
The grassy area we were now walking next to is where we have seen many Cinnabar moths in the past - and this was apparent now, as specimen after specimen of ragwort was covered in Cinnabar caterpillars, ranging in size from some very small, so I guess recently hatched, to some the size of catkins. We will have seen well over 100 larvae in all. (Just as an aside, some of the grasses are now in excess of 5 ft tall!).
We made our way past the hotel grounds, and would shortly see our third new addition of the day. Cose to where we have seen Blackcap in the past, but on the opposite (West) side of the path, we could here quite a deal of noise. A few minutes patience revealed the fattest and fastest Nuthatch I have ever seen! In fact there were, I am sure at least two.
A little further along came our 4th and final new species of the day. A Song Thrush. I should say, that I think our continued ability to add to our Outback species list reflects less on our skill at spotting new birds almost every time, and more on our inability to have spotted them the first time round!
A little further still, we could here Chiffchaff clearly, and there was yet more activity in the trees, with constant movement of warbler-type birds. I got a general impression of yellowness, and subsequent reading has suggested that this may have indicated juveniles of some type, but as for the actual species seen - I have no idea (and much to learn!).
We were heading home, and as we do on occasion, me and Partnyorsha took a slightly different path home. Between us, we saw at least two species of Gull fly over, one of which was Black-headed, the others weren't - and Partnyorsha was able to positively id the Jackdaws that I only saw as silhouettes.
I then got sidetracked on an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to track down a well hidden bird, but as I finally made my way back towards the pond, I heard (and then saw) the a male Reed Bunting singing heartily. It is almost impossible, I am sure, to translate birdsong into words with any accuracy, but Mitchell Beazley refers to the Reed Bunting song as irritating and tinkling. I think that's a bit harsh!
As usual, I'll finish with a birdlist (* heard only), but as an added bonus today, I'll also list butterflies, and if you can have a list of 1, I'll list the damselfly!
Damselfly List
prob. Common Blue
Butterfly List
Speckled Wood
Ringlet
Large White
Small Tortoiseshell
Painted Lady
Bird List
Blackbird
Black-headed Gull
Blue Tit
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff *
Coot
Great Tit
Green Woodpecker *
Greenfinch
House Martin
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Linnet
Magpie
Mallard
Moorhen
Nuthatch
Pheasant *
Reed Bunting
Skylark
Song Thrush
Swift
Tree Pipit
Whitethroat
Wood Pigeon
Yellowhammer *
Partnyorsha and I left the house at just about 8am, onto a surprisingly breezy and cloudy morning. First up as usual was a Skylark, and although things got off to a slow start today, there seemed, eventually, to be hundreds of them.
Swifts and House Martins were also evident again, and an early Magpie.
We were treated (!) to a pair of House Sparrows. Like most Brits, I'm finding these little fellas increaisngly hard to track down, and this is only my second Outback sighting.
The pond area was quiet, no obvious Whtiethroats or Yellowhammers, so, for a change, we deviated from our "normal" route, and headed off through the "Kestrel" field. (If you haven't already done so, you may want to refer to the Map (www.birdforum.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5760).)
This took us through the small wooded area, where there was a little activity, but most unseen by us!
Heading back towards our "normal" route, we passed a disused "garage", with a few associated concrete blocks or former buildings. (These are not marked on the Map!). Close by are a few gorse bushes, which were extremely busy! Numerous LBJs, including Tree Pipit (an id based on the previous Tree Pipit I have ided Outback, and the incorrect, as I understand, distinctions betwenn Tree and Meadow Pipit in Mitchell Beazley!).
We were also blessed with 2 new additions here. A Linnet, which came and went a few times, and a Greenfinch, which popped in just once, but hung around for five minutes or so. Both were dressed in there best bib and tucker!
After 15 or 20 minutes studying the gorse bushes, we continued on our clockwise route, and picked up our solitary Whitethroat of the day, in a shrub next to the root crop field. We could also hear a Yellowhammer in the distance, and although we got closer, we never did track him down.
The grassy area we were now walking next to is where we have seen many Cinnabar moths in the past - and this was apparent now, as specimen after specimen of ragwort was covered in Cinnabar caterpillars, ranging in size from some very small, so I guess recently hatched, to some the size of catkins. We will have seen well over 100 larvae in all. (Just as an aside, some of the grasses are now in excess of 5 ft tall!).
We made our way past the hotel grounds, and would shortly see our third new addition of the day. Cose to where we have seen Blackcap in the past, but on the opposite (West) side of the path, we could here quite a deal of noise. A few minutes patience revealed the fattest and fastest Nuthatch I have ever seen! In fact there were, I am sure at least two.
A little further along came our 4th and final new species of the day. A Song Thrush. I should say, that I think our continued ability to add to our Outback species list reflects less on our skill at spotting new birds almost every time, and more on our inability to have spotted them the first time round!
A little further still, we could here Chiffchaff clearly, and there was yet more activity in the trees, with constant movement of warbler-type birds. I got a general impression of yellowness, and subsequent reading has suggested that this may have indicated juveniles of some type, but as for the actual species seen - I have no idea (and much to learn!).
We were heading home, and as we do on occasion, me and Partnyorsha took a slightly different path home. Between us, we saw at least two species of Gull fly over, one of which was Black-headed, the others weren't - and Partnyorsha was able to positively id the Jackdaws that I only saw as silhouettes.
I then got sidetracked on an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to track down a well hidden bird, but as I finally made my way back towards the pond, I heard (and then saw) the a male Reed Bunting singing heartily. It is almost impossible, I am sure, to translate birdsong into words with any accuracy, but Mitchell Beazley refers to the Reed Bunting song as irritating and tinkling. I think that's a bit harsh!
As usual, I'll finish with a birdlist (* heard only), but as an added bonus today, I'll also list butterflies, and if you can have a list of 1, I'll list the damselfly!
Damselfly List
prob. Common Blue
Butterfly List
Speckled Wood
Ringlet
Large White
Small Tortoiseshell
Painted Lady
Bird List
Blackbird
Black-headed Gull
Blue Tit
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff *
Coot
Great Tit
Green Woodpecker *
Greenfinch
House Martin
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Linnet
Magpie
Mallard
Moorhen
Nuthatch
Pheasant *
Reed Bunting
Skylark
Song Thrush
Swift
Tree Pipit
Whitethroat
Wood Pigeon
Yellowhammer *