My original plan was to resume my relationship with the National Trust by visiting Coughton Court and seeing what birds etc lived there. Then I noticed they didn't open until 11.00 am. That's no good, too late for even a lazy riser such as myself.
Plan B was to turn into Coughton Fields Road and see if I could park. This worked brilliantly, and I was soon walking towards the ford, and more importantly towards a singing Lesser Whitethroat, which for once I was able to see and photograph.
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
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| Red Van Man going for it |
It wasn't as deep as it looked, but had the beneficial effect of reducing the flow of traffic along the lane. After being distracted by Beautiful Demoiselles and Banded Demoiselles I got back to the birding and was soon rewarded with the sight of a female Goosander flying downstream. This species probably breeds on the Arrow every year nowadays, but it was a first at this time of year for me.
I turned north and followed the river along the east side, eventually flushing a Little Egret and a Grey Wagtail but failing to find any Kingfishers. I'm sure they were there somewhere though.
It was rather a grey and chilly morning, the wind was north-easterly, so I saw very few butterflies. As far as birds went I amassed a respectable tally of common species, and was entertained by about three Ravens getting mobbed by the local Carrion Crows.
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| Ravens |
I think the two in the photograph may have been recently fledged. An adult had looked ragged winged, but these two characters seemed to have pristine wing feathers when they flew.
I made a mental note to return to this area later this summer. The tall poplars looked ideal for Golden Orioles and the riverside willows really should be harbouring a Night Heron or two.
Dream on !
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