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Birding in the time of Coronavirus (1 Viewer)

The virus is getting closer: 4 new cases in town (and around 50 people quarantined because they had been in contact with them) in the past 48 hours, when we had had 6 in total since the beginning of the pandemic. Not a very happy Easter.

The silence today was really eerie, at times even disquieting, as with the shops closed nobody had an excuse to go anywhere.

Anyway this morning the Hawfinch were back, 2-3 of them, but they didn't stay long. A few Swifts were also around and I saw another 2-3 about 15 minutes ago. Coal and Blue Tits visited the single feeder that we have left at the back, while Great Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Greenfinch and Chiffchaff provided a very pleasant background noise. Black Redstarts and Tree Sparrows were also singing but from rooftops and one male also visited the neighbour's garden while we were having our socially distant afternoon chat.
 
Easter Monday, called "Pasquetta" (Little Easter) in Italian, is traditionally a day for outings, picnics, bbqs, day trips to the countryside or to the beach, so it was particularly tough for our fellow citizens to stay put. Fortunately the weather took a change for the worse (although after 4 months of drought rain would be VERY welcome) and the day dawned overcast and windy so the idea of staying indoors was probably more acceptable to most.

The morning was pretty good for birds, and also produced two new lockdown birds. We started with 2 Hawfinch on the usual tree behind the feeders, then a Black Redstart singing from the rooftop opposite. We kept the window open while we were having our prolonged breakfast (no-one has to go anywhere) and binoculars at hand on the windowsill and thus located a singing Chiffchaff, a pair of Great Tits, Wood Pigeon, Chaffinch, a White Wagtail flying from one roof to another and, the first surprise, a Sparrowhawk circling briefly above the pine trees (not an unusual sight here, but always very welcome) :king:. A few Swifts were also seen higher up and then a Cuckoo, the first of the season for us, started calling not too far away.

The rest of the day was spent in various video calls with friends and while finishing one G saw a pair of Jays in the neighbour's garden and took a few pics.
 

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So much in common, our Easter Monday cold, windy and overcast too, plus occasional rain. Not much here this day, Cuckoo is still ages away.
 
A cold, windy day, drizzling in the morning, scattered clouds in the afternoon, not very good birdwise, with mostly the usual species seen and heard.

A brief peek out of the kitchen window first thing in the morning produced... nothing, maybe the Hawfinches have gone for good. A Chiffchaff could be heard in the distance and a Cuckoo called immediately afterwards, more or less from the same spot as yesterday.

With the drop in temperature the only feeder left was busier than in the past few days, with the four species of Tits (Blue, Great, Coal and Marsh) and three Siskins, which we hadn't seen for days. A female Common Redstart flew past the window and a couple of male Black Redstarts and a few Tree Sparrows called from nearby roofs. Also the usual Wood Pigeons, Collared Doves and Blackbirds.
 
Sunny today, but still very windy and cold.

No Hawfinches for the second day running and everything very quiet at the back: the only sightings of the morning were: Tree Sparrow, Black Redstart, Chaffinch, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove and Blackbird. My afternoon walk/run produced just a Jay and a Blue Tit, with two Marsh Tits at the feeders. Later on a few Swifts were flying in the distance out the front.

tree sparrow,, jay marsh tit blue tit, swift
 
wolfbirder said:
Birding and our love of it brings us together across the globe.

Stay safe, enjoy the birds!
Click to expand...

So true Nick, you stay safe too, and thank you! Sometimes I think about all those people in lockdown who don't have a passion like we do, some have picked up hobbies, some are renovating, but what we do (and also things like music or poetry or art of any kind), at least for me, makes things easier to bear because I feel part of something and I know that if I get bored I can always log in to BF and chat with like-minded people.

Now to today's birds: mostly the same stuff, but with a couple of very welcome sightings: one surprise and one bird which we hear often but is not easy to see.

I couldn't sleep so I got up at 6.30 and, in keeping to what has become the tradition of the past few weeks I opened the kitchen window and had a good look out: two chunky looking birds flew from the hazelnut tree by our feeders to a pine tree further away. A look through my binoculars revealed them to be a pair of Hawfinch! They are still here! We are beginning to think that they may be breeding, it wouldn't be unheard of, as we are halfway up a mountain.

A while later, Swifts circling above and Chiffchaffs and Great Tits singing in the background, I saw something largish and seemingly black and white rustling about where some trees had been cut. it's a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a female, drilling holes like there was no tomorrow. It stays there for about 15 minutes, allowing me to take more than 200 photos, of which only a few end up being serviceable as it's too far away, with lots of branches and stuff in between. But it surely made for a good start to the day!

Other birds were: Blackbird, Black Redstart (which I failed to take pictures of as it always manages to sing right in front of the sun) and Tree Sparrow, while I only heard Nuthatch, Blue Tit and Coal Tit.

Also of note, the first Scarce Swallowtail of the year.
 

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Following yesterday’s nice observations I had great hopes for the morning, but was disappointed to see that the pair of Hawfinches wasn’t there. It was also very quiet, apart from several Swifts circling above. Eventually things picked up a bit with Blackbird, Jay, Wood Pigeon, a singing Blackcap, the usual Black Redstarts, Tree Sparrow, Collared Dove, Greenfinch and Chaffinch (heard only) and the four Tits (Marsh, Great, Blue, Coal). I did hear Great Spotted Woodpecker but failed to locate it even if it sounded pretty close. I also saw a flyby White Wagtail and a group of three Starlings (not common here). In the late afternoon G heard a Wren singing at the back.
 
Nice shot of the GSW, it looks like Gianni has competition! We've had a sunny spell and I've had my little hide out on the patio trying to picture a wren who's built a nest nearby. Well, he/she has sat on the roof of the hide, has sung in my left ear from a couple of feet away and been pretty uncooperative. Of course when I leave the hide he struts past the window singing! Yesterday I did succeed in catching a few shots...
Keep safe, keep shooting and keep posting.
 

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Lovely shot! Well done. Wrens very shy here, we rarely see them. I will surely keep on posting although I am getting slightly bored of the same species: we haven't been able to add to our list for days!

You keep safe, too.
 
Wren

Wrens aren't shy here. We have one nest inside a horse headcollar, which is hanging on the sliding door of our barn. The door gets moved every day and the wren isn't bothered and has just hatched her eggs. There is another in a flower pot on our terrace, close to where we sit!
 

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After reading last night that falconers will be allowed to take Peregrine chicks from their nest, I spent most of the morning writing this post, so there wasn't much time left for birding.

Today's species list is very similar to yesterday's (and the day before, and the one before that...), starting with
good numbers of Swifts, then, Jay, Wood Pigeon, Blackcap, Black Redstarts (at least two pairs I'd say), Tree Sparrow, Collared Dove, Chaffinch, 3 species of Tits , Great, Blue and Coal.

The only difference with yesterday was that in the afternoon I heard a Short-toed Treecreeper close by and spent half an hour trying to locate it, but failed miserably. While I had my daily chat with my friend across the garden fence a curious male Blackbird was literally hopping around our feet, pecking at stuff in the grass, while a pair of Black Redstarts were engaged in a noisy courtship a few metres away.

One thought that I would like to share is: has anyone noted a drop in House Martins numbers? This is the third year running that they have almost disappeared from town. A few pairs used to nest under the roof of the building across the street, but although we see them when they first arrive, they disappear for the rest of the breeding season. Last year there were a few pairs in another part of town, but we haven't been able to go there as it's a residential area with no shops, thus we don't have a good reason to go there. We haven't seen any after the day of the Big Birdwatch. 🤔
 
Like Jos, it's a bit early, our martins are just arriving and we saw our first Swallow today. We seem to have a decline (a very unscientific assessment) as we've had 2 or 3 nests on the house for years but it all stopped two years ago. We're hoping for a return this year. BTW, looking through some old pictures I found one that shows why I think your region is wonderful... ;o)
 

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dragnil said:
Like Jos, it's a bit early, our martins are just arriving and we saw our first Swallow today. We seem to have a decline (a very unscientific assessment) as we've had 2 or 3 nests on the house for years but it all stopped two years ago. We're hoping for a return this year. BTW, looking through some old pictures I found one that shows why I think your region is wonderful... ;o)
Click to expand...

oh, yes! Plenty of good stuff around here. I can read Montepulciano on the label. A 40 minute drive from here and Montalcino (even better known for its Brunello wine) 40 minutes the other way. We are bang in the middle. Not sure it's a good thing during a lockdown though. We had a box of a local organic wine delivered before Easter and I doubt It will last long!
 
Much the same stuff today too, with the welcome additions of a Cuckoo calling for the best part of the morning (heard only) and a Serin singing and strutting (isn't that what Serins do when singing?) from the top of a tree at the back. Also, just because yesterday I had said that House Martins had been hard to come by: what do you think I saw in the middle of my walk/run late this morning? Obviously three House Martins inspecting one of the nests under the roof of the building across the street! :gn: . Although it has to be said that they disappeared for the rest of the day.

And then all the rest: Swifts, Blackbird, Jay carrying sticks, Chaffinch and Greenfinch (heard), Black Redstarts, Tree Sparrow, Collared Dove, Starlings, Green Woodpecker (heard). And of course all the 4 Tits seen/heard.

Long overdue rain is forecast for the next three days, so I don't expect to be able to see much in the way of birdlife, but you never know. And I'll post updates anyway. ;)
 
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