30th May 2021

I thought I had better post something to remind people I’m still here but this has been the worst May I can remember. Cold, wet and devoid of birds. Even as I write, with the fine weather of the last couple of days, I have still seen very few Swifts and none of the traditional Swallow nest sites in our road are occupied. Warblers too seem generally down with hardly any Lesser Whitethroat heard and very few Willow Warblers.

The odd good bird sighting there has been unfortunately hasn’t fallen to me with Chris having a pair of Hobbies hunting insects over Thrintoft and my wife a Red Kite no more than ten feet above the car as she drove over Morton bridge.

I had to settle for much more mundane fare but I did notch up four pairs of Yellow Wagtail along the river which is the best total for a couple of years

an out of place Corn Bunting briefly tested my ID skills...

And this Skylark was unusually confiding on Back Lane in Morton…

Butterflies have also been rather elusive, I have only seen a single Speckled Wood and no Brimstones this year but I did see my first Wall this week…

The strange spring also seems to have held back many plants but one that has really thrived this year is Cowslip, and I have seen more than in any other year I can remember…

I did also add a couple of plants to the village list, neither rare but I have obviously missed them before, Ivy-leaved Toadflax…

And Thyme-leaved Speedwell…

I’ll finish off with one of the few benefits of the wet month, some superb rainbows…

3rd May 2021

I suffer from an affliction which is a major handicap for a birdwatcher – laziness. I am not good at early morning starts but today I walked down to the riverbank for 5.30 to see…very little. (although this heron wasn’t expecting anyone this early)

But there was some compensation in the form of my first Common Sandpiper of the year…

Although they breed just upstream of the parish they are surprisingly scarce here.

A similar walk along the river on Saturday turned up my first Lesser Whitethroat, singing in the willows by the bridge, and a marked movement of Swallows. More than 50 were counted moving low along the course of the river. Obviously migrants, not feeding but heading relentless north.

Also along here was a notable arrival of Yellow Wagtails with at least seven birds present (all males)…

And two Wheatears...

As well as six singing Corn Buntings…

And my first Kingfisher of the year. They had recovered numbers really well but have become inexplicably scarce again in the last couple of years.

On one bend of the river there was a tight gathering of five Little Egrets, three Grey Herons, two Shelduck and seven Goosander (all males). I assume the low waters levels had concentrated prey species. It was a real snowstorm when they all took off.

I have also had some outstanding views of hares over the last few days, including a few boxing and ‘meerkatting’…

Year list to end of April - 90 species.