One swallow doth not a summer make but the three which I saw at the Bandiat today might make fairer weather more likely.
Chiffchaffs are among the earliest spring arrivals are are usually seen flitting around in bushes and trees so I was rather surprised to see seven of them busily feeding on my lawn this morning. The bright male redstart that has been around recently was still with them.
Elsewhere there is little to report except that the great white egret is stil at Fougère along with what looked like three green sandpipers in the far distance.
Corn buntings are not migrants as such but the first ones that I have seen this year were singing near the eoliens this afternoon.
All this bird activity is overshadowed by the very sad news that our much loved cat, Yoda , was killed by a car outside the house today.
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ReplyDeleteSo sorry to read about your cat; we had to have ours put down about 6 months ago and know how upsetting it can be. After a few weeks thinking that we wouldn't have another, we made the mistake of visiting the SPA refuge in Mornac "just to see". We now have two! Anyway, if you do want a replacement then they may be worth a visit; there are usually around a 100 to choose from.
ReplyDeleteBack on topic, an interesting spot in our garden yesterday. A very small, dark grey warbler was flitting along one of the hedges. I only saw it for a few seconds but it was a bit smaller than a chiffchaff, charcoal grey with slightly paler underparts, had a "rounded" almost black head and a short, thin pointed beak. Unless someone can tell me differently, the only thing that I can match it with is a Dartford Warbler but I've not seen one before so can't be sure. It did look very similar to some of the photos available on the internet but I didn't notice any red. It was definitely not a Black Redstart - Much too small and we see enough of them to recognise easily. Any other ideas?
Sounds like a male blackcap to me! There's virtually nil chance of a Dartford in our habitat.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the condolence. I've taken Stella off to the Île d'Oleron for a few days to take her mind off her loss so I'm unaware of what's passing near La Poterie. Keep an eye out.
Don't think it was a blackcap. We have those in the garden and this was much darker and smaller. Almost uniformly charcoal grey, slightly paler underneath. This link is the closest image I could find:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chog.org.uk%2FSightings%252520Photos%2F2011%2FOctober%2525202011%2FDartford%252520Warbler%2525202.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chog.org.uk%2FSightings%2520Archive%2F2011%2FOctober%25202011.htm&h=375&w=500&tbnid=cu8rJ__V7ORL-M%3A&zoom=1&docid=aXiYYIecN4xACM&ei=rEsJVczzFor8Uq-qgcgE&tbm=isch&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=7404&page=4&start=140&ndsp=51&ved=0CNgBEK0DMEY4ZA
Enjoy your trip to Oleron. We were on the Isle de Ré last week. Lots of Brent Geese, Shelduck and Egrets. We also enjoyed the waders at the LPO reserve.
Your bird remains a bit of a mystery. I'm very familiar with dart fords from my IOW days but have never found one in Charente though they are listed as a species. Their habitat is usually restricted to gorse scrub on downs and heathland and their most distinctive feature is their long cocked tail. They don't migrate or even move around much.
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