Trying to get an idea of what’s happening in the bird world during the one hour that’s allowed for exercise outside the house is a bit like the ornithological version of speed dating...a quick look at what’s interesting and then move on. (I’ve never done speed dating so I can’t be sure about this).
Anyway, over the last couple of days I’ve ventured out and made some discoveries: I’ve heard several nightingales singing and also the chatter of a melodious warbler. I’m still on the lookout for my first wheatears of 2020 but in a likely habitat today I came across a pair of my first blue headed wagtails of this spring and close by was a squatting stone curlew.
A red kite was circling above the nearby wind turbines as I set out and while watching it I was alerted to the presence of a pair of hen harriers behind me by the surprising loud calls that the male was making as he did a tumbling courtship flight. This species is usually very silent....unlike the two tawny owls which I could hear from my house tonight.
In all, I managed to clock up nearly thirty species today showing that some birding is possible even during lockdown as long as you move fast enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment