For the last three weekends the activity by swallows and martins has been very obvious. Last weekend at Fishers Green in the Lea Valley they were skimming over the Flood Relief Channel no doubt building up reserves for the long migration.
This week I took a trip to the Forest of Dean and decided to check out a stream at Parkend which was recommended for seeing dippers. Naturally I didn't see one and ended up taking a trip on the steam train to Lydney and back before going over to the Nags Head reserve.
There wasn't much to see here either but the wild boars had been active with almost every area of open grass grubbed up. The photos show damage outside the visitor cente and the view from the Lower Hide.
The garden has seemed very quiet with hardly any birds seen but I hadn't been explicitly looking. I have just started putting a little food out in the front and in 24 hours have seen Robin, Great and Blue Tits and Magpies landing in my tiny front garden. Yesterday I heard a song that was unusual to me which the Merlin app identified as a Blackcap. Unfortunately for me the bird was ensconsed in the middle of my Forsythia which is still in full leaf and I couldn't get a sighting. This afternoon I saw Robins in the garden and corvids overhead. I set Merlin running while I swept fallen leaves from the front path. The app identified Robin, Rook, Wren, Jackdaw, Greenfinch and Blackbird. I also heard Parakeets but not while the app was running.


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