Lockdown wandering - Skilts Common

The sunshine is back and with the moths largely not spectacular, I went for a walk up to Skilts Common this morning.

I'll deal with birds first. Several new birds brightened the day. The first was rather overdue; a Treecreeper was in trees surrounding Skilts Fishing Pool. I reached the top of the slope where I was stopped in my tracks by a distant Cuckoo calling. A minute later a much closer call, but I didn't see it. My guess is that this was a calling flyover. I was elated.

Skilts Common itself produced plenty of Whitethroats and a Willow Warbler. I also kicked up a small moth which turned out to be a Common Carpet. A pair of Swifts flew over, and then three Herring Gulls circled overhead.

Common Carpet

I decided to walk to the trig point, from where I had excellent views over Redditch.

Retracing my steps, but walking into the sun, I twice flushed a bird from the hedge. I wasn't completely sure what it was, it seemed quite large for a passerine and may have had a white rump. It did indeed, for my third view clarified the situation. It was a Wheatear, a bird I had almost given up hope of seeing this spring.

Wheatear

It seems quite likely that this male was a Greenland race bird, but after allowing me three shots into the heat shimmer, it disappeared before I had a chance to see to see it front on.

I turned my attention to the small pool below the summit. As before it contained at least one pair of Little Grebes, plus Coot and Mallard with young. I snuck down to the edge to see if I could see any dragonflies. Rather surprisingly I couldn't, but a whoosh of wings turned out to be a pair of Tufted Ducks arriving. The male quickly swam behind a tree, but the female remained visible.

Tufted Duck

The walk back home gave me the opportunity to photograph a roadside Small Tortoiseshell.

Small Tortoiseshell

So the bird lockdown list has advanced by four:

68. Treecreeper
69. Cuckoo
70. Wheatear
71. Tufted Duck

Turning back to the garden where I spent most of the previous few days, I caught three moths on the night of May 6/7; a Common Pug, a Shuttle-shaped Dart, and a Chocolate-tip (nfy).

Chocolate-tip

This is one of the more attractive moths. If you ever feel like encouraging others to get into moths, show them a Chocolate-tip. Do not show them this;

Common Pug

So the lockdown moth list also advances;

May 6

35. Chocolate-tip

May 8

36. Common Carpet

I also had a near miss, when a brownish butterfly flew from our Viburnum, where I had failed to notice it. I'm fairly sure it was a Comma, but hopefully I'll get a second chance.