I can’t believe it’s not Stork (for our more mature members)
A thoroughly good read Richard.
Thanks Paul, I'll take that as one of those 'likey' things on yer actual soshull meedja
May 19
Not just the weather, but the birding started to have that summer feel about it with the first of this year’s summering
Griffon Vulture arriving, three cruising over the ridge to our east separating Haute -Savoie from Savoie départements, lucky for them the flocks of sheep (and some goats) had been taken up to the high pastures just a few days before:t:. Raptor action from the 2nd year
Golden Eagle and later the
Short-toed Eagle pair were hunting together on the Sulens mountain across the valley from the house. The numerous Common Swift were briefly joined by two
Alpine Swift early evening, so three ‘garden ticks’ for the year in one day! When I totted up my day total I found I had managed 40 species without leaving home at all, the first time I’ve managed that I think.
May 20
When we were working in Lebanon researching potential IBAs and raptor/soaring bird bottleneck sites it became almost a standing joke that while watching a bird or flock through the ‘scope something otherwise invisible would appear (Levant Sparrowhawks at 20,000ft usually ), this afternoon while scoping one of the Short-toed Eagles an even bigger bird hove into view above it, momentarily thinking “Oh it must be the female therefore I’ve been watching the male” I very soon twigged it was nothing of the sort and realised I was looking at a stork
sp! It was at least 3000m up and flying strongly northwards but luckily I could keep it in the telescope view as it approached and passed almost overhead, soon showing itself to be a
Black Stork, rare enough but more likely than a White Stork at our altitude. Haute - Savoie gets about 15 sightings each spring these days but it certainly wasn’t on my radar as a potential species for here. So, after the Great Cormorants earlier in May and the regular Grey Heron I think I should apply to have our place designated a
Ramsar site! Four new species for the garden list in 2020 so far, after only two last year, a real purple patch of a spring this year.
The LPO had asked me if I could keep an eye on the
Eagle Owl breeding in Thônes so that evening I made my first visit to the site, the nest cave is not actually visible so last year it was a case of waiting for the adults to go off hunting just after dark and later in the summer listening out for the young calling. Although I had not a sniff of
Bubo bubo activity I had some nice dusk views of a
Chamois clambering about the cliff, which I need to point out is almost in the town (I have even seen them munching the grass on the roundabout twice late at night:eek!
. Lots of Crag Martins there, pipistrelle sp and after dark flybys of Grey Heron and a Goosander pair broke the monotony of staring at rock for an hour.
May 21/22
More raptor action with my first
Honey Buzzard of the year, a wing shivering male in display mode, as was the adult male Golden Eagle more distantly. Its antics were not to the taste of a pair of
Raven that pursued it for a few minutes (and several kms!) until it cleverly banked round and started chasing one of them before calm returned. I realised that our nesting Blue Tit pair had stopped their food visits about two days before and my worst suspicions were confirmed when I opened the nestbox to find five dead half-grown nestlings inside, I’d seen the local male Sparrowhawk carrying Blue Tit - sized prey at about the time feeding stopped so it (or one of the countless cats) was probably the cause of the failure. On a happier note I saw my first juvenile Greenfinch, Marsh Tit, Great Tit, Starling and White Wagtail in the vicinity over these two days. A male
Goshawk was a nice sight on 22nd, unusually slipping by before the c40 non breeder Carrion Crow flock spotted it and it was well past their trees before they started alarming and chasing in a half-hearted fashion. The Short-toed Eagles pair seemed settled in on the Sulens opposite and even came on a wander over the house one day.
May 24
My walk to the village and back for bread yielded little on the outward leg (it was chilly and before 7am) but coming back I found the male
Common Redstart had now a mate and a second male was singing about 600m away. However they were eclipsed by the number of
Red-backed Shrike around, between the village and our house I saw five males, one female and heard another male calling out of sight. The next day I walked in the other direction up from the house and found 4 more within 1km so it looks as though they had a good survival rate last winter. Quite close, but just out of earshot of home I confirmed that there’s a pair of
Garden Warbler back to the spot they bred last year and a late
Siskin was feeding in the elm tree next door, the first May record I have had here.
Photos of Stork, Shrike, Short-toed Eagle, Chamois and Vulture (honest,
it is!) (Must try harder with the camera.................)