Little change today although fewer Gatekeepers. Azure Damselfly was NfY, some Long-tailed Tits were the first since January(!!), a couple of Swifts overhead and this male Volucella zonaria in the usual hedge on bramble. Again, the skippers all seemed to be Essex. Despite the amount of Ragwort this was the only Cinnabar caterpillar I could find.
And finally an Ant Damsel Bug (Himacerus mirmicoides) also on Ragwort.
With no positive effect from months of drugs, the last three months have been housebound all bar hospital appointments and with nothing over the garden except singles of Swift, Common Buzzard, Holly Blue and precious few other insects.
Today was a short but exhausting local walk where the swans still had six large young, having only lost one, and a very juvenile Black-headed Gull was still being fed by an adult. Scanning the skies found just three Swifts and in the distance a male Blackcap was still singing from Squirrel Wood. Sadly, not a peep from Reed Warbler, so presumably no breeders this year.
(Four of six below)
Plenty of frisky Mallards but no young since the doomed family back in January. I guess the Coots will have started off with more than two young a few days ago.
Migrant wise one or possibly two new-in Willow Warblers were singing sweetly although destined to move on to more suitable habitat. A small but definite increase in Blackcaps ( five or so) and Chiffchaffs (four at least) plus the first Whitethroat of the year not yet in song which just leaves Reed Warbler to arrive. Curiously for such a nice day no Buzzards nor indeed any overlying birds other than gulls. Not even a new for year butterfly despite the nice conditions.
This was an unusual purchase for me as I rarely buy 'Birds of...' books other than two home counties worth of avifaunas - Sussex and Hampshire. However this is as good as anything written elsewhere, a thorough delight to read with nice, pertinent photos and plenty of the late Laurel Tucker's artwork. With an extensive bird list and a good number of rarities this must be a great place to have as a local patch - I'm green with envy. Mark Avery's review here and Birdguide's review here
Monday was a minimal outing with just a Sparrowhawk heading West over the shops - curious that after 4 months with not a sniff of Sprawk I'm on a roll of 6 out of 8 days!! Maybe local breeders?
Today a Goldcrest (heard only) was in the conifer behind No. 7 and another was again invisible in a conifer in the park's cottage garden. Over brunch a distant and barely audible Firecrest came down the slope until much louder; a Nuthatch was also very noisy.
By the pond only a single Moorhen, but I'm guessing the second bird was hidden on a nest, and two Mallard looking a little out of place here. At least six Siskins were down drinking or bathing by the bridge and a Mistle Thrush dropped in for the same but was too timid to tolerate my presence. Elsewhere just a single Chiffchaff and one Slow Worm under corrugation. With the early morning sunshine replaced with totally overcast cool conditions, insects were a nil and just patches of Lesser Celandine to provide some colour.
Finally, after nearly 12 months, a Kestrel on patch hovering at tree height by the road and from the car was nice to see.
Further east an eagle was over Havant - interesting to see the track on this one. Plenty of irate Herring Gulls around the house but none seeming to point to an eagle or indeed any other raptor.
Still too cool for any new insects and still no sight/sound of any Willow/throats and being post lunchtime on a nice Sunday, the whole area was rammed with people, kids, dogs and urban noise! A brief skywatch produced the first Peregrine of the year - maybe one of last year's regular birds?? - and a minute later a Sparrowhawk went east carrying prey. The former was, surprisingly, ignored by all the gulls and doves although the latter did stir the doves up a bit. Still a handful of Shovelers.
Cold weather has impacted insects and the only bird of note, whilst queuing for a panini from the local take-out, was a Sparrowhawk pursued eastwards by irate, squawky Starlings
Thursday was a write-off with pain levels too high for anything.
Friday's patch walk was pretty minimal with the cold wind keeping things down and, despite other sites seeing an influx of typical spring migrants, no evidence of change here. A couple of Med Gulls were drifting off to the north before Herring Gulls alerted to two soaring raptor one a Buzzard but the other, larger and longer winged, showed itself to be a fine 'patch tick' Osprey - not quite as good as an IOW eagle but very pleasing nonetheless. Downside was losing the Papilio rain guard on only it's second outing!!
A Naturetrek live broadcast after lunch from Ecuador showed some nice birds including Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, a nice reminder of 2003's visit.
Elsewhere, the unthinkable happened with Devon's Northern Mockingbird disappearing and rocking up at Pulborough of all places - what are the odds of it landing in the garden of a birder who knew what it was and who was able to get the news out. No sign of it on day 2 though. And the White-throated Sparrow also popped up in Sussex again.