Stand by for visitors!

Some weeks have highlights, and some weeks don’t – this one didn’t!

Wednesday 30^th and Mary and I are walking down Putney hill (for the non-residents, a busy bus route, bordered by £1mill+ properties, and full of Chelsea tractors), and just above our head a foraging Goldcrest. It puts things in perspective.

Moving on, and we are on the 31^st March, and I’ve achieved another record – 142 species year to date, and that’s 8 better than I’ve ever done before at that date. Now it’s how to maintain that momentum. Let’s have a prediction, an ambitious one... 160 by the end of April.. that would be another record....in my dreams!

So that you are not bored with me quoting year to date figures constantly, I’m changing things. If (and when) I have an addition, it be in italics... and in red!!...plus any periodic milestones.

Friday 1^st April,  10.30am ...and I’ve decided to have part of the day in the wildlife centre at Carsington. The forecast is good, the schools are on half term, so we should see a few visitors, and with a bit of luck some migrant visitors too.

14.30, well the birds were OK, even if the public was absent.. Started well with a nice male Red Crested Pochard, albeit right over in Shiningford Creek North, and then disturbed by a fishing boat.  A nice calling chiffchaff was outside the centre, followed by a pair of Swallows.  A brief (-cold-) stroll round Stones Island added 2 House Martins, but although reported there were no sign of the Sand Martins or the Little Ringed Plover. 

Sunday 3^rd April, and this is the first of the 2 walks when I hope we may have an Osprey fly through. We’ve done well on April 1 in previous years so the precedent is good. I’ve also added another walk the following Sunday, the 10^th, to give us 2 chances. 

My publicity must be good.. 29 people turned up for the walk! Not the number I usually get, but Amanda joined Keith and Gary so between the 4 of us we were able to look after this large group. 22 of the party were people who had been on the walk before, and some of them bring scopes, so the 7 “Newbie’s” have plenty of people willing to help them id the birds.

Plenty of singing Chiffchaffs were about, and no one missed seeing or hearing this charismatic bird, so it was not surprising that Chiffchaff was the Bird of the Day. 2 nest boxes each had a Tree Sparrow sitting in front of the hole, as if on guard, and the Great Northern Diver was visible although closer to the far shore. Sadly no Hirundines (until after the walk was over!!), nor Osprey, although an Osprey had been reported flying through last Friday, AFTER I had gone home – nothing changes there.

As my bird walk is free, I have a collection box for anyone who would like to make a small completely voluntary contribution to our ongoing costs of maintaining the Osprey nests, and the group this morning gave a very generous £19. What kind people. 

Luckily, some of the group just heard and saw their first Willow Warbler for 2016.

As it’s a bit of a no news week, I thought I might end on W-o-W experience No.2.

A birder I know had a memorable experience on the Lincolnshire coast in June 2013. A Red Kite was spotted drifting over the saltmarsh, undoubtedly looking for food. After a Hobby gave the Kite a close look and then moved away, the Kite rose up over the grass bank to be immediately harassed by eight Avocets, prompting it to head back the way it had come, but faster. The Avocets were protecting their families of Avocet chicks, any one of which would have made a meal for the Red Kite. A truly Wow moment.