Monday 17 June 2013

Will we ever settle into summer?

It's been a while since I posted an entry partly because I've had quite a lot on at chez nous with both DIY and visitors but also because the weather has not been particularly conducive to birding. Yesterday was a baking 30C for instance while this afternoon is humid, showery and rather gloomy. The only pattern that seems to exist is one of changeability------but there I am, moaning about the weather again!
As for the birds, there are still plenty of montague's harriers and black kites around, the latter often scouring the recently harvested hay fields. While cycling near Artenac I had the remarkable sight of a montagues harrier taking something from someone's front lawn. Orioles are still very vociferous and one was in my acacia tree a couple of days back. Nightingales too are still in song but I have heard only a few quails including one in the wheat field opposite my gate.
I came across another pair of stone curlews in a maize field near Licheres and I stil think there might be two pairs on the Lairiere plains as I have come across them in fields far apart from each others he cherry crop is huge this year and mine are being raided by birds. The main culprit are the  blackbirds but starlings, house sparrows and great spotted woodpeckers are also having a field day.

Monday 3 June 2013

Sunshine Birds

June is here and the sun has finally decided to come out so it was a case of on the bike to see what was around locally.
A three hour tour turned up 50 species ncluding a pair of stone curlews on the plains in a different field from the one I have seen a pair in earlier; perhaps there are two pairs. raptors were abundant, particularly harriers and I saw at least six montagues and several hen harriers including two males which were sat close to each other on the ground, quietly preening, while just a single black kite was hunting over the fields. The rest of the fifty included spotted flycatcher, short-toed tree creeper, tree pipit, crested lark, melodious warbler, golden oriole, hoopoe, cuckoo, yellowhammer and the usual suspects---but not goldfinch, swift, house martin, dunnock or black redstart!