Initially I had organised to get to site at 0500....luckily I changed it to 0530...though I was there at 0515 anyway....light had recently broken the dark up in to large fragments of cloudy murk....but a decent Nightingale count was required....!
0520 - 0900 overcast, cool to cold, NW f1-3
A fabulous walk out with DH to check out not only Nightingales but also the recently arrived Lesser Whitethroats and the Willow Warblers too.
Warbler count......
Nightingale 8
Chiffchaff 36
Whitethroat 10
Lesser Whitethroat 4
Willow Warbler 4
Blackcap 15
Sedge Warbler 1
Reed Warbler 1
No cake for me then....double the number of Nightingale from the other day as I thought...and absolutely wonderful to hear them in full cry.....though they were silent before we left site....so another couple of weeks should see them sing well in to the morning and possibly beyond hopefully. Im also planning a midnight trip to see if they do actually sing in the dark?....I have never checked before...!
The Lesser Whites were still mobile around the site, checking out their potential new homes for the Summer....and I really hope they all remain on site. It seems as though the Willow Warblers are now set on site, so im really hoping they stay put and arent moved on for any reason....!
Down on the number of Chiffchaff and Blackcap....though they seem to prefer singing a bit later in the morning onward....for now....will have another count up this week no doubt at some point...
Other birds seen today of note....
2 Buzzards were circling over the East end of the site....a Kingfisher racing from one pit to another was a nice find.....
Probably would have been bird of the day...Merlin..or Hobby...swept along the bank of one of the pits...didnt get much time on it and only by eyesight....but metal blue back, a fast falcon with pointy wings....right in the middle of the cross-over period for both birds to be here....and I have seen both here....pah!! Not to be relocated! Could have been either but if I was a betting man I would go for the former.....
Swallow 1....heading over West
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Herring Gull 2
Mandarin Duck 2
Hi Graham. I was at the Pits later on Saturday morning and 4 of the nightingales were still singing :-) I've yet to get there early enough to hear the 10 or 11 you are now hearing! My partner and I often go to listen to them in West Sussex and have been known to drive around in the middle of the night, and I can assure you they do pipe up during the night. It's easier there as they can be heard in quite a few areas from the road. There is very little better than hearing Luscinia's song when all else is quiet. Mostly they seem to sing around dusk and then take a few hours break before starting up again for the night. We haven't ventured down to the Pits at night though (could be hazardous with all that deep water around!) but I will be interested to hear your reports if you do. Thanks for your blog!
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