[birdman]

Saturday 7th of May, and as a consequence of a seemingly more and more hectic life - although I don't seem to actually do that much, it's just "things to attend to" - I, well me, partnyorsha, daughter and dog, squeezed in 90 minutes outback in the late afternoon.

At this remove, the most obvious recollection was the wind, which was blowing an absolute gale, and possible by dint of this, the bird numbers were kept down somewhat.

An Linnet on a house roof-ridge was the first entry on the list before we entered the outback "proper".

A single Starling and an equally unattached House Martin were the meagre additions, until we caught sight of a small grup of 14 Swifts. positively revelling in the wind. Wow... they really are aerial masters - sweeping back and forth, doubtles vacuuming up the insects in the air over the pond.

The Mallards and Coots were in evidence on the pond, showing the young 'uns the way of the world... 16 Mallard chicks and 10 Cootlets (Cootlings?)

The Moorhens were not nearly so obvious, and there was no sign of the paddle of tiny feet yet.

A very few Skylarks were braving the air, a small number of Swallows were trying to keep up with the Swifts and generally speaking ones and twos of other species largely trying to reamin sheltered.

Nevertheless, the selection of birds was not too bad, and almost the parting shot was a distant, but eligible for the list, Cuckoo... my first of the year!

Plain text = Outback day tick
Bold text = Outback year tick
(Number in brackets is highest number of individuals identified at one time)

Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) : 1 (1)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) : 2 (2)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) : 24 (12)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) : 2 (2)
Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) : 2 (2)
Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) : 1 (1)
Swift (Apus apus) : 14 (14)
Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) : 12 (10)
Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) : 2 (2)
Coot (Fulica atra) : 19 (10)
Black-Headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) : 3 (2)
Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) : 1 (1)
Magpie (Pica pica) : 6 (3)
Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) : 1 (1)
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) : 6 (2)
Blackbird (Turdus merula) : 1 (1)
Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) : 2 (1)
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) : 1 (1)
Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) : 1 (1)
Great Tit (Parus major) : 1 (1)
Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) : 1 (1)
Swallow (Hirundo rustica) : 4 (3)
House Martin (Delichon urbicum) : 1 (1)
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) : 1 (1)
Skylark (Alauda arvensis) : 5 (2)
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba) : 1 (1)
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) : 3 (1)
Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) : 1 (1)
Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) : 1 (1)