Wednesday April 30

A glorious sunny morning with a light south-easterly breeze. Perfect for photography, not so good for turning up unusual birds.

Nevertheless my photo year list got an immediate boost when the Sedge Warbler in the reed-bed finally decided to play ball.

73. Sedge Warbler

At least two other Sedge Warblers were singing, and also a Reed Warbler here which I also saw, but failed to get a shot of, and another in a nearby hedge. After this mini triumph the remainder of the visit was a bit underwhelming. The female Gadwall was on the furthest flash, the Cuckoo eventually started singing, and I finally got a record shot of a Blackcap, one of about six I heard during the morning.

74.  Blackcap

In the absence of notable birds my attention turned to insects. The sun brought out an array of butterflies including this Large White.

Large White

and more Brimstones than I have seen here since March.

Brimstone

I had hoped to get my first damselflies of the year, but I couldn't find any. Instead there were lots of  sinister looking flies.

St Mark's Fly

As a final postscript, Mike Lane phoned me this evening to let me know that he had found a party of fledgling Tawny Owls in the usual tree. A target for tomorrow perhaps.

Garden Birding

Today my dad came round, and I am keeping him amused by showing him how to blog. Bear with me.

One bird I photographed yesterday has not yet been featured at Morton Bagot, because I haven't got near enough to one.

But I got one from the garden.

This Jay perched briefly in trees about three gardens down.

Hopefully one will feature in a later posting of Morton Bagot birds.

Monday April 28

Well this is a turn up, birding on a week day. A grey and cool morning with a light easterly breeze.

I started at Netherstead Farm and quickly added a photo-tick as the Swallows there are starting to perch on the weather vain.

72. Swallow

I probably should have waited for a sunny morning, but what the heck. Moving on to the reed-bed, there are now two Sedge Warblers in residence and they were driving each other nuts resulting in much singing and many song flights. While I failed to get an opportunity to take a decent photo, a Reed Warbler started singing. This is my first April record here, but I was unable to see it despite spending quite a bit of time trying.

A circuit of the patch produced little, although one of the Blackbirds has developed an annoying habit of doing Curlew impressions. A Wheatear showed well on the field behind the pool.

That was about it until I spotted a Pheasant on a gate just before he saw me. His solution was to lie flat and hope I hadn't seen him.

Nice try

The Cuckoo sang briefly, but I still haven't clapped eyes on it. A Redpoll flew over calling. A couple of Greylag Geese  flew past, giving me the chance to try a flight shot.

At least the House Martins were back. My next (and last) attempt to do the spring big day will be next weekend.

Sunday April 27

I wasn't planning to go birding today, but discovered a window of opportunity when I offered to go to Aldi (via the patch) to get supplies.

It was just a quick dash down to the flash and back. On the way down I noticed that the recently erected Owl box was occupied.....by a Stock Dove.

At the Flash I saw that the mud had returned, and so had the Little Ringed Plover. In the distance two Ravens flew around, and then an immature Cormorant flew over.

I headed back to my car, but shortly before I got there five Black-headed Gulls flew over.

One of the five. This one's an adult.

This was fairly unusual for the time of the year, and thus became the most notable species seen.

They went

My plans were foiled by the weather. Heavy rain in the early hours led me to decide to sleep until a respectable hour. When I finally did get to the patch my decision seemed vindicated when I located the Tawny Owl in the hedge beyond its usual tree.

Tawny Owl and Cormorant

 The immature Cormorant presented me with the opportunity to get both birds in the same shot...if you look hard enough. A new Sedge Warbler burst into song and for a while I was tempted to do a big day despite the normal start time. A pair of Wheatears appeared in the field, but then I got to the flashes and my early optimism drained away.

One thing not draining away was the water-level which had risen overnight. I had hoped the rain might have dropped a wader in, but instead it took one away, as the lack of mud meant no sign of the Little Ringed Plover. The Teal had also gone, but were replaced by the female Gadwall which has been visiting occasionally for almost two months.

Still with half a mind to do a big day, I recorded species diligently. Nine Whitethroats, seven Blackcaps, four Chiffchaffs, two Sedge Warblers, and two Lesser Whitethroats but no more passage migrants. The Cuckoo was still calling, and I recorded Bullfinch and Treecreeper in the wood. A Carrion Crow swooped down and took a hapless Lapwing chick.

By 10.30 am I had all but given up. A fly-over Redpoll buzzed, unseen, but the day lacked a spark. Even the House Martins normally resident around Netherstead Farm had disappeared.

Aware I was also failing to photograph very much, I went for this Moorhen.

But went you start photographing Moorhens you know its time to give up. So I did.

Will they stay, or will they go?

Well its approaching that time of year again. The annual big day. Many sites do one; Upton Warren, Belvide, Marsh Lane for example. They all do theirs in May.

Not me. I have always preferred late April, usually around the 22nd. This plan is probably coloured by my spectacularly successful day in 2011 when I scored a still unbeaten 70 species, including Marsh Harrier and Wood Sandpiper.

My thinking is that I stand a chance of collecting birds like Teal, Snipe and Green Sandpiper  which have usually left by May, while the only birds I could miss would be Swift and possibly Reed Warbler. Also, the earlier date is better for passage migrants like Redstart.

Sadly the plan backfired spectacularly in 2012 when I was too early for even staples like the Whitethroats, and managed a pitiful 60 species. Last year was better, but still only 65. This year I have shifted the date, and the current plan is for Saturday.

But the weather could be a big fly in the ointment. It currently looks to be wet, and even worse, blustery for most of the morning. Also, the birds aren't playing ball.

I went out this evening. No Green Sandpipers or Snipe again. The only positive was that the Teal are still present, in fact they have doubled in number to a respectable four.

Hanging in there

Another bright spot this evening was the presence of the first brood of Lapwings. There were four young chicks running about, but only two made it into shot.

The Little Ringed Plover was the only other wader in residence. Being evening there was not much song, but I did hear Whitethroat, Blackcap, and Cuckoo.

Frustration of the evening was an extremely faint call of a possible Yellow Wagtail, which I followed up with a distant dot bouncing away into the distance in a way not incompatible with the way a Wagtail would fly, or a Pipit. That was the problem.

I just need it to turn up on Saturday...assuming I do the same.

Monday April 21

The weather was back to where it should be today. Sunshine and just a hint of an easterly. Naturally I couldn't resist another visit. Just a quickie I told Lyn. Fortunately she understood what I meant.

Parking by Bannam's Wood I was greeted by a singing Great Tit.

I took its picture just in case there was nothing else to see. I needn't have worried. The walk down to the pool took in the Tawny Owl, while the pools contained 13 Tufted Ducks. The flash was quiet again (two Teals and an LRP), but three Wheatears were again present in the rough field.

One of the Wheatears

I returned to the car, and then decided to drive to Netherstead Farm, just in case. This paid off when after five minutes a Cuckoo started singing somewhere across the fields to the west. Every year I worry that none will return, so its presence is a relief.

It got me thinking about my top five favourite bird songs. I think they would be as follows:

1. Blackbird
2. Cuckoo
3. Curlew
4. Wood Warbler
5. Turtle Dove

Sadly only the top one is guaranteed at Morton Bagot, while numbers four and five are little more than aspirations.

Later this afternoon I took Lyn back to hear the Cuckoo. Needless to say it failed to perform, but at least the Sedge Warbler, which was apparently absent yesterday, was in full voice.