Buoyed
by the spring and by my success yesterday with goshawks, early this morning I
went a little way west to another regular goshawk site. No sooner had I arrived
than a little flock of crossbills kip-kipped across the clearing, followed by a
buzzing redpoll. Thus began a strange spell of recombinant finch flocks. A little
later a flock of crossbills flew past again, kip-kipping noisily, and with them
was one wheezing brambling. By my good fortune the kip-kippers went one
way and the wheezer went another, so I felt justified in putting
brambling on my list even though I had seen nothing but silhouettes. I needn’t
have worried though as shortly afterwards a flock flew past at eye level. All
those at the front were crossbills and all those at the back were bramblings. There
were more redpolls, following crossbills, and then the siskins were at it too.
It seemed this morning that all the finches knew the crossbills were the ones
to follow.
A
mistle thrush sang his loud, ethereal song and coal tits itsy-witsied from
every pine. In the valley a green woodpecker laughed his manic laugh and
curlews purred and burbled. A pair of sparrowhawks sprang from the pines but of
goshawks there was nothing. I’m sure they were there, as every now and then all
the jackdaws and the woodpigeons would scarper in unison, but I never saw them.
The morning was the more exciting for it.
As
I reached the road I heard the lilting loveliness of a woodlark over the heath.
I can’t resist woodlarks, however many emails I have pending, so I walked back
through the woods and, in the same spot as my first of these birds last year,
were two trembling males filling the morning sky with sorrow and with song.
At
home there are newly-hatched ducklings on the pond. On their twin power-line
posts the predatory lesser black-backs lurk in wait. Cue Jaws music.
New today
Birds
|
||
435
|
common crossbill
|
Loxia
curvirostra
|
436
|
brambling
|
Fringilla
montifringilla
|
437
|
woodlark
|
Lullula
arborea
|
2012 Totals
Mammals: 54
Birds: 437
Reptiles: 12
Amphibians: 3
Fish:
2
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