Chiltern Birder

I had already seen tweets from people who had seen swallows and heard cuckoos but it was only this morning that I saw a swallow. It was skimming over pasture in Ley Hill where the farmer had been keeping a herd of charolais cattle. Cuckoos, sadly, are still silent here despite the lack of traffic noise. I couple of nights ago I tawney owl in a neighbour's tree was making an absolutely defening racket which I could hear indoors. I went outside and could hear his mate in the same, or an adjacent, tree and another male some distance away responding to the call. I was pleased, yesterday, to see a pair of bullfinches on the feeder, the first since the storms in early march. Chaffinches and goldfinches are also feeding regularly as well as the usual blue and great tits. There haven't been any badgers at their feeding station recently and after finding evidence of rats visiting I have stopped putting food out for the moment.

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.

This morning had some very interesting moments. I went down to Rickmansworth to take a walk around Stockers Lake. Making my way up from the car park I saw that the black swan was still in residence, this time on Bury Lake with a group of mute swans. The songsters were in fine voice and  I was lucky to see a garden warbler singing. On the water were the usual selection but I only saw chicks with the coots. The common terns are returning and in a wooded area a wren managed to beat the warblers on volume. When the flags come into flower the display around the lake edge will be magnificent. Driving home I stopped at Codmore Wood to take a look at the bluebells which are now fully out. Walking in the wood I saw a group of three roe does. They were wary but I stood still and they did not run, giving me the best view of the species that I have ever had. The large mobile ears were very striking giving, for a moment, the imression of a very elegant donkey. They kept a wary eye on me, th...

Not the earliest year but still a nice suprise. Walking into Chesham along Botley Road one crossed in front of me and flew across a field of horses. This field is popular with the swallows probably because there are always animals grazing with associated insects around them. I also saw an orange tip butterfly on the same walk and noticed that flowers were out on the horse chestnuts. Spring develops so rapidly! In the garden the starlings are becoming a lot more active.

After the cold weather it is now very warm. Garden activity is much the same with occasional starlings and long tailed tits as well as dunnocks, blackbirds, robins and blue and great tits. A chaffinch made a brief visit this morning, the first that I have seen in the garden for a while. The blackcap hasn't returned but I saw one by the side of Botley Road this morning as well as swallows swooping over the paddocks nearby. Both great spotted and green woodpeckers have been audible but none have been visible.

We took a trip out to Marsworth this morning. Plan A had been to walk around the reservoirs but, being the first nice day of the year, the car park was full as were nearby laybys. The number of people carrying scopes suggested that something rare had been sighted. Finding a parking space on the other side of the village we walked along the tow path towards Leighton Buzzard and saw a solitary swallow skimming the water. There was nothing else of note on the walk but back home the blackcap has been returning to the feeders. Always the cock bird.

On Monday I went over to Bampton in Oxfordshire. Normally when I go there at this time of year the swifts are very noisy but this year I didn't hear one. The local crows, however, were taking offence at the presence of a red kite and swallows and house martins were visible. Yesterday I encountered a red legged partridge sitting on a gate beside the road. I was able to stop the car and have a good look at his very handsome markings.

I saw my first swallow locally this morning while walking along Botley Road into Chesham. It wasn't the first however, four days ago I was at Fishers Green where there was a huge flock taking insects just above the water surface. There were also at least two cuckoos calling in the area and the sight of a warbler on the reeds showed why they were there. Unfortunately the view was too brief to get a firm identification and the Lea Valley Park website suggests that both reed and sedge warblers were present. It was nice to hear cuckoos for the first time since 2010. There was nothing else excpetional in the Lea Valley, the tern rafts were full of black headed gulls and the canada geese had goslings and a few coot chicks were visible. Today I travelled to Thame by bus and, without the need to concentrate on driving, it was striking just how many red kites there are now. There were some lovely views with the birds coming down below tree top level. Near Chinnor one was keeping pace with t...

An early work finish meant that I had a rare chance of a weekday walk locally. So I did my favourite circuit down Broomstick Lane and Bottom Lane then back across the fields. It was suprising to see a late swallow skimming the arable, newly green with late sown something. Coming back in a lovely mild blustery weather the kites were in evidence with three or four individuals seen over a very short distance. One skimmed over a flock of jackdaws at low level but they seemed totally uninterested. A little later a flock of crows looked a little more threatening but didn't mob the bird. One must have been from this year's brood as it was quite small by kite standards. I could judge the size well as it came very close. The only other bird that was obvious was a yellowhammer that vanished into the hedge, one of the closest that I have seen to home.

I have seen birds from the car which I could not positively identify as swallows for several days but walking to the polling station this evening I had my first positive identification. The field next to the Hen and Chickens is used for horses who provide the perfect environment for the swallows' prey. The wild flowers have come on a lot since Easter. Clover, forget me not, speedwell and buttercups were all very obvious on the verges as well as a single field poppy. Returning home I went into the back garden and saw a kite being mobbed by crows. Nothing unusual around here but it is the first time that I have seem one from the back garden. The front garden and hte street outside the house yes, but never from the back before.

Despite the frequent bright sunshine the weather has turned very crisp and autumnal in the last few days. When taking some exercise this morning it was quite a suprise to see a swallow zooming across a freshly ploughed field. As the trees are pretty well in full leaf that was the only thing of any interest that I noted. In the garden recently I have had a flock of long tailed tits pay a brief visit and a very quick glimpse of what looked like a linnet. In the village a jay looking for acorns on the verge made a colourful change from the magpies

As well as the usual suspects the last couple of days have given us visits by long tailed tits and coal tits. The real treat, however, was a house sparrow in the tree at the bottom of the garden. They come to that tree very occasionally but I never see them on the feeders. I had to make a trip to Bristol today. Being behind the wheel of a car isn't the best location for birding but on a long journey there are a few that can be recognised. Kites were in evidence between Great Missenden and Oxford as usual and I also saw swallows on a phone wire. I know that they have been around for a while but somehow I seldom get to see them until later in the season. In the Cotswolds I saw two buzzards, curiously both were being attacked by a single crow. On the return a lapwing flew across the road between Oxford and Thame, and a few minutes later a grey hawk like bird which I would put down as a possible cuckoo.

I spent some time in Devon for the first time in 6 years last weekend. I was very struck by the number of buzzards that we saw along the A303 / A30. I saw the first just as we crossed from Wiltshire into Somerset and after that they were a regular feature. We stayed in Whimple and, between games, the cricket pitch attracted swallows, skimming dangerously close to the ground and a number of pied wagtails including a juvenile. At one point I saw a wagtail take to the air and drive off one of the swallows.