Chiltern Birder

The arable fields between Ley Hill and Latimer have been harvested over the last couple of days. This morning I saw a group of yellowhammers in the middle of the road by a field gate. From the look of things they were eating spilled grain. Instead of flying into the hedgerow they flew away from me along the road at windscreen height. I haven't seen much else recently apart from a distant glimpse of a partridge and the occasional red kite.

I took one of my occasional visits to South Wales last weekend. There was nothing outstanding about the drive with the usual scattering of kites to the east of Oxford and buzzards to the west. On Saturday a visit to the Gwent Levels was not as exciting in birding terms as my visit in May 2006 but we were lucky to see a water vole cross the road in front of us and also saw a weasel in the reserve. Among the birds there were curlews and oystercatchers at a distance on the mud and a single egret flew across our path. The new visitor centre is impressive with a nice selection of cakes in the little cafe. Later in the day we moved up into the hills near Blaenavon looking for Peregrines but thought we were going to be out of luck until one flew across just as we were turning to leave. As well as the usual buzzards the almost pig like croak of a raven caught our attention and among the small birds there were a host of meadow pipits and a solitary wheatear. On Sunday a walk around Whitecastle

I saw a blackbird on the starling feeder today who flew away with a large beak full of fat. As juvenile blackbirds are around, feeding themselves, this one must be raising another brood. The young starlings are still turning up in small parties but I am not seeing groups in double figures any more. We also had a party of juvenile blue tits on the fat feeder in the front garden. Fat bars are now lasting several days and I will not be buying any more this season.

I parked in the Water Meadow car park in Chesham today, so I took the scenic route into town via Town Bridge. The Chess is in a healthy state with a good flow of water. Moorhens have raised a brood and I saw the parent and one chick by the bridge. In the garden the starlings have mostly moved on and the main visitors seem to be goldfinches and wood pigeons.