Having been away in the week I was a little disappointed to find that there was no activity around the nest box at home. I am not sure if the Blue Tits have fledged or something worse has happened. On Friday both a Starling and a cock House Sparrow were hanging around the box, but I haven't seen any Blue Tits. As I never saw anything, I will assume they have fledged, it will make me feel better.
Saturday started sunny and bright, but with a cool north easterly wind. I had all day and was going to walk around as much of the patch as possible, but headed off towards Old Down. I wanted to see if the deer were about. As I reached the junction of Lymington Bottom and Brislands I could hear tits calling, and I quickly realised that they were a family party of Coal Tits. After some camera problems I finally managed to capture one of the youngsters in the Sycamore tree.
The scene down Brislands was worth taking as well, we are now in full leaf everywhere, and the greens are wonderful.
I turned off Brislands to enter the wood from Gradwell, walking past the horse stables the paddocks were full of Rabbits these two baby bunnies looked gorgeous in amongst the buttercups.
I walked around the outside of the wood, playing the Firecrest song but with no reaction, heading into the wood I was also disappointed to find that the owl wasn't there again, there are still signs though so the roost must be used sometimes.
As I walked along the footpaths I scanned the surrounding area for deer, but there was no sign of the doe from last Monday. I crossed the main path and took the small track to the west perimeter. Looking out across the fields the view looked wonderful in the morning sunshine.
I turned to take the path towards Swelling Hill, and stopped immediately, I could just make out in the field through the branches a doe Roe Deer and her Kid.
It wasn't the best photograph, and I edged closer, climbing onto a stump to get a view over the branches. The doe saw me and turned, but only walked away slowly, the kid following.
They didn't go too far away until they stopped, they both seemed to be interested in something in the wood.
It couldn't have been anything as they stopped looking, the kid turned to look across the field, while the doe looked straight at me.
I decided to see if I could get a little closer, but that was a little too much for the doe, and she shot off, leaping over the tall grass. The kid followed, jumping as well, but not as high as the doe. I don't think it will be too long before it will be able to spring over the fence.
This kid seemed to be a little larger than the one I saw on Monday, so I am now convinced there are at least two kids in the wood. A really good start to the day, I only hope the rest of the day lives up to it. You will have to wait and see.
I walked around to the Buzzard nest but there was no activity. I had seen a Buzzard over the wood but there was nothing happening here. I walked back to the field to see if the deer had wandered back. I could see the doe way down at the bottom of the field, and the grass moving beside her. She was watching, or listening for me, and slowly she wandered off, down the hill, the grass moving behind her as she slowly went from view.
Chiffchaff and Blackcap were heard singing in the wood, along with the usual resident tits, robins and wren. I walked out at the cottage entrance and headed off to the pond, hopeful that there may be some insects on the sunny bank.
When I arrived it was quiet, but I sat and watched and slowly there was some activity. First was a Common Blue Damselfly, my first for the year.
And then a few hover flies appeared, this is Helophilus pendulus, a common hover fly the larva living in muddy water.
I was also joined by a Large Red Damselfly, that sat close by on one of the larger nettle leaves.
The water was covered with small midges, and you could also see some tadpoles in the water. By the floating weed every so often a Carp would break the surface sending ripples across the water. I left the bank with a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling behind me, and walked around to the road. The Yellow Irises are just starting to flower, and from ground level they look lovely against the dark green background.
Left the pond and made my way towards Kitwood. A Nuthatch called above me, and I found it at the top of the tree, on a dead branch.
As I walked along Kitwood there were two Chiffchaffs singing, along with singles of Blackcap and a Whitethroat. As I walked past the farm I could hear young birds calling from a nest in the ivy, I realised they were Blackbirds as the female came crashing out.
I turned off Kitwood and headed down to the bridleway. A Chiffchaff was calling the hueet call, and I managed to find it in the open, but more interestingly with a bill full of caterpillars and insects. There must be a nest close by, but all the time I watched it just stayed in the tree.
A little further on a male Blackcap sang from the top of an oak.
By now it was about 11.00, and despite the brisk breeze I would have expected to have come across butterflies in the sheltered spots, but the only sighting had been of an Orange-Tip along Kitwood. At the bottom of the track it was quite sheltered, and I found at least three Green-veined Whites.
Along the south facing edge of the bridleway, there was plenty of flowers to attract the butteflies, but despite this there were hardly any. I did though, find a couple of differrent flowers that I was able to identify. This is Tormentil.
A little further on there were patches of white flowers carpeting the floor. I thought at first it was Ransoms, but looking closer the petals were a distinct four pointed star. This is Woodruff, and it looked quite spectacular under the darkening canopy.
I stopped for a drink, and was joined by a very tatty looking Peacock butterfly. These have been flying since April, but I was just pleased to see a butterfly, regardless of the species or its condition.
Whilst sitting drinking, I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker call, as I set off along the path, I could hear the unmistakable calls of young woodpeckers. I found the hole in an old birch tree, in fact two years ago they nested here, but last year it was left empty. I settled in to wait for the adult to return. Very soon I could see an adult flying around, but it could obviously see me, and never came to the nest hole.
Whenever the adult came close the youngsters sensed it, and the volume of the calls increased, but it never went to the hole. It just sat close by.
Despite attempting to hide in the hedge the bird knew I was there and never came, so I decided that I should leave them. As I walked off I could hear the calls of the young birds rise, the adult must have seen me leave and gone to the hole!
I crossed Hawthorn Road, and headed up the bridleway towards Newtown. I have found both Great Tit and Great Spotted Woodpeckers nests along here before, the former bizarely in a metal fence post, and the latter more traditionally in a hole in a dead tree. Unfortunately this year there was no sign of either.
The fields were covered in Rooks and a few Jackdaws, the Rooks in family parties, the youngsters giving themselves away with the constant begging for food, as I passed an open space all the Rooks went up into the air, recalling scenes from the winter.
Unfortunately one individual, I think a young one, had a damaged wing, and was frantically flapping around the field trying to join the others, the damage didn't look good. As I walked along the path, Rooks were everywhere, and as I passed the barns a huge flock of Jackdaws came out of the pit.
I turned off the main path and headed downtowards the Maryanne Plantation, I turned off the road to walk around the cleared area. There was some shelter here from the wind, but there was no sign of any butterflies, and a location that in the past has been good for insects was very quiet. A Chiffchaff called from the scrub area, and two Blackcaps were singing at either end of the clearing.
I made my way back out and headed back towards the farm. A Peacock butterfly flew strongly against the wind along the edge of the field, and I found this Scorpion Fly sitting on the side of a tree.
A little further on I heard some familiar squeaking calls. I turned off the path and into the wood. I was looking for a dead tree, and quickly located one from which the calls were coming from, and then I found the hole.
I settled behind a large tree this time in the hope that the adult would show and give me that Kodak moment, but once again, I could see it, and hear it, and it came close, but never went to the hole. I waited for quite a while, but in the end decided my presence was not a good thing, and turned away back to the road, as I stepped on to the road I heard the volume increase once again in the hole!
The Rooks were still in the field, and this juvenile was begging to its parents for food.
I am not sure if they gave it anything, but all three flew off, the youngster still calling for food as they headed away.
I took the footpath towards Plash Wood, and as I approached a small copse close to the path, I could hear a warbler singing. I wasn't sure if it was Blackcap or Garden Warbler, the song didn't sound that fast, but it wasn't like a Blackcap. I decided to play Garden Warbler on my phone, if it was a Blackcap I probably wouldn't get a reaction, but just maybe a Garden Warbler would.
As I played the song a bird burst out of the bush, and settled in a sapling, and rattled its song back, a Garden Warbler, and probably the best photograph I have managed to get of one. You can see how plain, and "un-sylvia" warbler looking they are.
I turned off the footpath, and headed through Plash Wood. There were a few more Large and Small White butterflies here, fluttering abouve the sunny glades. Down the main path there were four mist nest stretched across the path. I am assumning these are in place to catch Woodcock, as the Game Conservancy has a project here where they catch and track the birds. I will have to come back in the evening, I would love to see one roding.
I walked down the path towards the A32, because that is where the footpath starts back up the hill. A pair of Jackdaws were calling madly as a Kestrel flew over carrying prey. A little further on another raptor glided over, giving me a better chance for a photograph, a Sparrowhawk, probaly a female, looking a little worse for wear on the wings and tail.
I made my way back up towards the house, again no butterflies, but a pair of Buzzards called from the trees behind me. There was nothing of note as I made my way to the barn, and then I decided to check the small pond. This proved to be a good move, as I finally found my first Holly Blue of the year, it was very mobile around the far side of the pond, where it was very sheltered. As I edged closer I was surprised to see a drake Mallard come out of the reeds, and then burst into the air when it saw me.
The sheltered spot also produced a Red Admiral, my first for a while, although again it had a damaged wing.
The pond itself was choked with pond weed, and all over the surface were Common Blue Damselflies. They were mating, the males holdingthe females up as they look to lay their eggs under the water, the males being responsible for ensuring the females can get out of the water and through the meniscus, which for such a small and light insect can be very difficult
They seemed to be everywhere, and with the pond very well sheltered from the north east wind, the sun had obviously brought them out.
I left the pond and headed for the quarry, this seemed like a nice spot to take a break, and a drink. A Blackcap was singing as I walked in, and while I was there I also heard Chiffchaff. I could also hear the calls of young woodpeckers again, and once I had finished my drink I set out to search for the nest. I found the hole quite quickly, and, thinking third time lucky,settled down to wait for the adult.
I don't have to tell you what happened. I saw the birds flying around, and one even landed on the trunk, but they never came close to the hole. I walked away, and when I was well away from the sight of the nest the volume increased, and I turned back to see the bird fly off. I waited again but nothing so I walked slowly away. Once I heard the calls increase again I dashed back, and managed to get this. It isn't just the hole, look at the bottom of the picture.
Once again, no butterflies, the quarry was sheltered and sunny, but there was no sign of any type of butterfly, what is going on?
I left the quarry, crossed the road and headed up towards Plain Farm, on the telegraph wire, as I crossed the road, was a male Kestrel, but it didn't stay, and flew off. Two today, I will have to send in the report as advised on Springwatch.
I walked up the hill, past the tree that is now in full leaf, and if there was a Little Owl in it you would never see it. I walked around the edge of the main path, through the long grass, but once again no butterflies. I turned to check the field, and as I walked along the edge I flushed a young Roe Deer buck from the long grass, and it shot off leaping across the field.
As it went I saw a distant partidge fly from cover, and a Lapwing flew up circling and calling. In the field on the other side of the road, there were two more Lapwing, and as I broke cover one became quite agitated, and made its way towards me, while the other, obviously a mate took to the sky. I scanned the field, and could just make out two little sods of earth moving around. See if you can see them in this picture.
Both birds kept calling and heading towards me, diverting my attention form the chicks, so I ducked back through the hedge, and continued on my way. Off the road and onto the footpath, the hedge was full of Goldfinches. This one was totally unconcerned about me,and allowed me to get quite close.
Scanning across the field, I picked up two lumps of brown, that stood up and walked slowly to the erdge of the field. Hares are very easy to see here at this time of the year, and I don't tire of watching them.
At the end of the footpath there was an unusual sight, a small group of five Small Whites, and three Large Whites. I followed one Small White alongthe path, and once I had worked out that it liked to nectar on Herb Robert, it decided it had enough and was off.
I headed around the field, and out along the footpath to Charlwood. The edges of the road were covered in flowers, Mouse-ear, Red Campion and Buttercups provided a lovely scene. I turned off onto the footpath to Lye Way. Ahead of me I saw movement in the grass, it was a Grey Partridge, and it looked at me through the grass.
As I tried to get a little closer it decided that was just close enough and exploded from the grass and flew across the field before dropping from sight.
I have seen a pair here before so lets hope they are now looking to breed away from Plain Farm. I walked on along Lye Way with only the sound of singing Yellowhammers. I walked towards Andrews Lane, and took my time along the south facing bank. There was a couple of Small Whites flying around, but of more interest was this Brimstone, a rather late Brimstone at that.
Andrews Lane was extremely quiet, and didn't trouble the binoculars, I crossed over into the Desmond Paddocks, and immediately let out a little "yes" as I picked up a lone Swift heading towards Old Down. A very uncommon bird around here, last year I saw some on the 26th May, and then again on the 30th June.
Around the entrance to Old Down there were again a few white butterflies, and as I walked down the main path there were more butterflies than I had seen all day. They were Small and Large Whites and they were flying around the open sunny areas.
As yet the Ash trees in the patch seem to be ok, without any infection. There is a small plantation in the wood of young Ash trees, and I thought I would capture these beautiful trees now in leaf, I hope I get more chances in the coming years, but some how I doubt it.
I had been out now for about eight hours, and as I walked home along Brislands I realised how different the light was. I took the picture to show the difference and to provide closure to a lovely day.
While the day was highlighted by the babies, it was also quite concerning not to see many butterflies. At this time of year when the sun's out, they should be everywhere, but they weren't. I am hoping that right now we are between flights, because if not then the months of June and July are going to be very quiet.
Despite the weather being dry over the weekend, it was a little disappointing in as much as it was very cloudy, and there was a very cool wind. True to form with the first day of the working week the sky was clear, and the wind had dropped. By the time the evning arrived it was it was very pleasant and my thoughts returned to the Roe Deer and her kid. I set off for yet another try in Old Down, I had received another report of the them being seen from Jill, and with that some idea of exactly where.
As I walked along Brislands the air once again was filled with bird song. It sounds like early May as opposed to early June, another sign of the lateness of spring, one which has been confirmed as the coldest for fifty years. As I passed under the large oaks on Brislands I could hear Long-tailed Tits calling from within the canopy. I stopped and quickly found a pair of adults, I wondered if they were feeding recently fledged youngsters, so I waited and watched and I was soon able to find them. The tails are yet to reach full size and you see the difference from the adults. The marking around the head are also not yet complete. In this photo there are three birds, so are immediately visible, but you have to search for the third.
The adults were busy flying around the hedges leaving the youngsters in the safety of the oak branches.
There are several oak trees close together here, and as the adults moved further away the youngsters responded to the contact calls, and moved from tree to tree, allowing me the chance to get closer photographs
You can see the smaller tail and prominent fork in these pictures
I left them all calling away noisily in the tree top, and turned down Gradwell to enter Old Down from the footpath. As I walked alongside the field swallows came from the horse paddock and out across the field. I counted about eight which was a good number as there usally only a pair that nest around the stables.
As I walked into Old Down I was greeted with more bird song, Blackcaps, Blackbirds, Song Thrush and Robin were singing constantly, and every so often they would be joined by a Wren. I walked around the south perimeter, and stopped at the stile to see if I could any sign of the Firecrest that was there last week. All I could hear was the alarm call of a Robin, that at first I thought might have been the Firecrest. There was no sign, so maybe it had been just a one day wonder, or it had been there a while and moved away at the weekend, either way I was pleased that it had stayed long enough for me to have found it.
I walked along the path towards the main track, and disturbed what looked like a yearling Roe Deer amongst the bluebells, it moved away through the undergrowth. I turned off the path and headed west towards to the wide main path, and almost suddenly felt I was being watched. I stopped and found I was staring at a doe Roe Deer.
She watched me closely as I walked along the path to try and get a better view for a photograph. I approached carefully, and she never took her eyes off me. Finally I must have been too close because she turned away, but never sped off, just walked away always looking back at me. As I watched her I noticed movement in the bracken and bramble and a head appeared and dropped again out of view. I looked closely, and this is what I found.
You can just make out the white spots and stripes on the back of the kid, that was settling down as quietly as it could in the vegetation. Every so often it would twitch, and I could see where it was. Zooming in I was able to get a better view. If you look closely you can see the rear haunches, and I as a result I think the head is pointing towards me.
I had the feeling that someone was watching me again, and I turned to see the doe on the path looking at me, so I started to edge away.
I walked off and left her to return to the kid. Incidently I always thought a fawn was the name for a baby deer, but it seems when they are first born they are known as kids, then as they grow they become fawns. Roe Deer can have up to three young in one go, and they also have the ability to delay implantation of the fertilised egg, typically the rut takes place in mid July to August, and after that the egg does not implant and start to develop until December.
I walked to the field by Old Down Cottage and waited to see if anything appeared in the field. It is hard to believe that the kid can jump what is quite a high fence, so the thought is that the kid being seen in the field was probably born there and lies down in the long grass, with the mother leaving it to go into the wood. Once the kid is old enough it is then able to jump the fence. This would mean that the youngster that I had just found was another and not the same.
As I stood waiting I couldn't help but be impressed with the buttercups in the adjoining field and the scene they produced against the distant trees.
A call from the pines behind me alerted me to another late arrival. It was a Spotted Flycatcher, I was able to pick it out, but unfortunately unable to photograph it. They are becoming more abundant than I thought.
I wandered around the path through the wood, looking to see if I could see anything in the long greass, but could not find any signs. I decided to walk back to where I had seen the other couple. As I came down the path, the doe was there watching me from behind a tree trunk.
I checked the area I had left the kid in, but it was not there, it was probaly close to mum now, and her watchful gaze.
I left her, and walked back around the southern path, and out onto Gradwell lane. It had been a worth while walk , and at last nice to feel warm.
On Friday I mentioned how the Blackbirds are all in full song now from some very prominent places, this male was singing well after sunset last night from the aerial next door, he was still going at 10.00pm.
We decided last night that we would get up early, and head off into the wood before the dog walkers arrived. We are determined to see the deer and it's fawn, and this seemed like a good plan. We got up at 5.00, and headed off just as the first rays of sun were coming through the trees and houses. The view down Brislands was quite dark, but as we reached Gradwell, the scene looking back was very nice with the sun picking out the trees beyond the recreation ground.
The birds were in full song, and you could hear Blackbirds, Song Thrush, Robin, and the cooing of the Wood Pigeon. When ever I hear the Wood Pigeon it always reminds me of one of my first scout camps at Longworth in Oxfordshire, the weekend of the first moon landing. This Wood Pigeon was enjoying the warmth of the sun.
The air was still quite cold, and others were taking the chance to warm up as the sun climbed higher in the sky.
As we turned into the wood the bird song seemed to increase. The Blackbird from Friday was still singing in the same tree, and now there were the calls of Great and Blue Tits, and Robins and Chaffinches singing. Every so often a Wren would explode into song, and off at the tops of the trees there was the "check" of the Great Spotted Woodpecker.
The path into the wood now looks splendid with the Cow Parsley coming into flower, it was helped by the low sunshine. Very soon this will become completely over run with nettles. Fortunately you can't make out the ground in any detail in this picture.
At the crossroads we turned east, and immediately found a female Roe Deer, she looked like an adult but was alone. She walked away from us but continued to stop and watch us as we walked by. We turned into the footpath heading towards Kitwood, and again the sun picked out certain parts of the scene creating a nice image.
At the stile we stopped to see if the Firecrest was singing but we couldn't hear it. Instead there was a Wren making sure we knew it was there, and again a lovely view of the stile and footpath lit up by the morning sun.
We walked around the perimeter, and could hear the calls of a Buzzard from the vicinity of the nest, but we were not able to see anything. As we approached the main path a Garden Warbler was singing close to the fence, song song similar to that of a Blackcap, but much faster and more scratchy. I tried to find it but the leaf cover now makes it extremely difficult.
We crossed the main path and continued around the outside, looking across the field around the edge of the wood. The grass here is quite long, and when I picked out a deer, I thought we were going to be lucky. However it turned out to be a Roe Deer Buck, sporting some little antlers.
It was in the right place, and we have seen trails through the long grass close to the fence. This buck made its way around the edge of the wood and out of sight. We walked on, stopping to watch a Marsh Tit high in a birch tree, it was calling constantly. I have seen them here before, and maybe there is a nest close by.
As we came around the bend, Helen indicated for me to stop, and pointed out another deer in the field. Unfortunately once again it was the buck we had seen earlier, and it stood quite still watching us. You can see how tall the grass is here.
The Roe Deer rut starts much earlier than the other deer, and this one has a neat set of antlers. It will be interesting to see if there is any sign of rutting in the wood next month.
We carried on, following the trails through the bluebells, and pausing to wait and see if anything would appear. It didn't and with the sun not catching this side of the wood it was becoming quite cold. We walked as far as the west end, then came back on ourselves and headed back up the main path. At last the sun was getting through, lighting up patches of the grass and bracken by the side of the path.
We carried on, and headed out of the wood through the Gradwell path. We didn't see any more deer, and we hadn't found the fawn. It will probably be seen today by someone with a dog that flushes it out, oh well!
As we came along a Gradwell, a Dunnock was singing loudly from the telegraph wire, clearly happy in the warm sun.
The Dunnock may have been warm, but we were both quite cold. The wind was still very cool, and we hadn't worn the right clothes, so it was back home to a nice hot cup of tea. Its June now, usually a time when things go quiet and we turn to insects and butterflies, but this year there is still chance that something unusual may turn up, migrants are still arriving in quite high numbers, a 1000 Spotted Flycatchers at Portland yesterday was incredible
We have been away over the Bank Holiday, and details of that and our trip to the south coast earlier in the month will be posted soon on the "Away" blog. I am keeping it to India at the moment because I have been fortunate enough to have Inntravel, the company we used for our trip to India, wanting to use a link to the blog in their recent marketing email letter.
Today was the first opportunity to get out around Four Marks due to both the weather and available time. At home the Blue Tits are busy feeding their young in the nest box outside my office, and as I write this I can see them going back and forth from the Rowan tree. The House Martins have also returned and are currently conducting running repairs to the nest over the lounge window. Blackbirds are busy in the garden, and at last the noisy Starlings have all fledged.
We set off in the late afternoon to explore Old Down Wood. I had received reports that in the evening there is a Roe Deer doe with a fawn, and we were going to see if we could find her. As we turned up Brislands we were greeted with yet another change in the view.
The leaves are now almost all out, the Ash is probably the last to emerge and they are about halfway, still at least they are alive. Past the Gradwell turn the gardens also have flowering rhododendrons, which brought back some memories as we walked past them.
Walking past the houses and out along the lane through the fields there were also plenty of butterflies about. Mostly white butterflies, I was pleased though to find this Green-veined White nectaring on the Field Mouse-ear alongside the road.
We turned into the wood along the main footpath, and were greeted by a Blackbird in full song, they are overlooked, and if you stop and listen any where at the moment I bet you will hear one singing, it is a lovely rich song, usually produced from on high, either the top of a tree, or house or on the TV aerial, as I write now I can hear one close by. This one was tucked away high in the tree, with it's mate probably close by sitting on the nest.
Now time for a moan, as we walked along the path we were having to watch our step, as the path was littered with various sizes of dog poo! It seems dog walkers assume once they are off the road they can let their dogs go anywhere, and they do not have to clear it up. A footpath is no different to the pavement, and they have to remove it, or at least move into off the path. I just hope they end up stepping in it!
Rant over and now back to the wildlife, the bluebells are still out, but are now past their best. They have become a paler blue, and don't have that iridescence quality that was there a couple of weeks ago. As the canopy closes over the bluebell flowers start to die back, in a few weeks the floor of the wood will look completely dead. Nevertheless they still produce little areas of beauty. This will probably be my final bluebell picture of the year, that is unless I find the fawn amongst them.
The woods seemed to be alive with bird song, it is the first time this year I have heard so much, it shows how late spring is this year. We walked around the main path and then checked in on the owl. Once again there were signs it had been around, but the tree was empty. As we walked away we disturbed a young Roe Deer, probably a yearling and it headed off into the wood. We carried on around the many tracks and came out by the footpath stile that heads to Kitwood. I heard a completely different bird song, but one that I had heard before. There are times when I doubt myself as to whether I have identified the bird to the song, and this was one of those times, so I checked with the calls and songs I had on my phone. As I played the song I thought the bird was, it confirmed I was right, and then as if to completely ram home the identification the bird appeared almost alongside me!
The flared orange red crest was unmistakable, a male Firecrest! I will apologise for the photographs now, they are a bit dark, grainy and not as sharp as I would like, but that said the bird was highly mobile, and it was a little dark under the larches. I called Helen over, and we decided to let the recording continue to play, which brought the Firecrest closer.
It came quite close and was very interested in us, or should I say the intruder that was singing in its area.
It is a very beautiful bird, the white eye stripe standing out against the black supercillium, and the fiery orange red crest. The upper parts are a lovely green. It is one of my favourite birds, and I was thrilled to have found one it what I consider to be my wood!
Not only was I able to see it I was also able to get some photographs even if they were not as I would have wanted them to be.
Reluctantly we left the little bird singing away, hopeful I am sure of attracting a mate. We walked along the perimeter and came out on the main path at the Old Down Cottage entrance. We walked back towards the crossroads, and took the track to the west perimeter. There was no sign of any deer, but we did see a Tawny Owl fly from a tree, probably flushed out by a Grey Squirrel.
We decided to visit the pond, before returning to the wood. As we came out at Old Down Cottage there were three Whitethroats singing in the trees and hedge. This is the most I have ever seen in one spot, and was probably the sign of birds moving through. Even though it is late in the year there has still been quite significant numbers of migrants seen on the south coast.
The grass was being cut at the pond so we abandoned that idea, and returned to the wood. Chiffchaffs were sing around us as we came in, and I managed to see this individual quite well. It wasn't singing, and spent a lot of time quite close to the ground. It had a definite supercilium, but more prominent at the front, and paler behind the eye. Its upper parts were very greyish brown, and the breast and flanks were slightly streaked, which I have never seen in a Chiffchaff. The legs were also quite pale. Looking it up at home, there is nothing there that matches this, so I am no wiser. Any one have any thoughts?
We checked the Buzzard nest, as we had seen an adult earlier, but there was nothing showing anywhere close to the nest. We walked off to the west, and spent some time watching the edge of the field. With nothing showing, we walked to the west end, but took a deer track through the bluebells. We were trying to work out how the fawn would get into the fields, the mother could jump over the fence, but we didn't think the fawn could, and all the wire fences were closed in.
Our search did not find anything, but we did find the next blue flower that will be out after the bluebells have gone, the Bugle.
It was getting a little cool now, and so we decided to make our way home. We walked around the north perimeter, and then back along the footpath to Brislands. The Blackbird had been joined by a Song Thrush, and then were both in full song as we walked past them.
As we walked along Brislands, I saw what I thought was a poppy in the middle of the field. It wasn't a poppy!
We hadn't seen what we set off for, but we had found one of the most stunning little birds in the British Isles, once again the patch manages to turn up big surprises. We won't give up on the Roe Deer though, and maybe we need to try an early morning visit.
