Sunday 15 May 2011

Chats, 'Tears & Young 'Uns!


Tuesday 10th May saw the first Swifts (4) over the house plus I heard the first scolding Lesser Whitethroat from the house too.
On Friday I saw a strange Caterpillar on the brick wall in the Library car park, not sure what it is but I suspect its the larvae of a moth, but which one? Will post pic later.
I also discovered that the nest box (the high pitched tiny whisping calls were a giveaway!) I put up on the west facing wall of the garage now has a brood of young Blue Tits and both parents are working tirelessly and diligently bringing food regularly to their offspring some times flying back once a minute. I have also witnessed one of the adults taking a white foecal sac out with its bill and disposing of it somewhere on Fallowfields meadow.
Saturday 14th May I looked around both Corton Old Sewage works (where there were an impressive 5 Wheatears, 3 male and 2 female perched on the raised grassy turf) and the New sewage works where in the extreme south west corner by the edge of the path a female Whinchat, my first of the year, perched on the posts and fence here and was reasonably confiding. 
A young birder who was also here (sorry don't know his name) said he'd just seen some Whinchats on the North Denes and so I drove down there. Initially I saw the Iceland Gull perched on Gunton beach but it was soon spooked by dog walkers and it perched on the end post of the groyne, 5 along north of Link's road. Walking out from the car park I immediately saw 3 Whinchats (2 females and 1 very smart male) perched on tall vegetation amongst the weedy area plus by some rocks by the path at the slope of the cliffs were 2 Wheatears, 1 male and 1 female Wheatear.
A female Sparrowhawk soared high west over the garden then dived and stopped down onto Fallowfields meadow.
4 Swift flew over the garden late afternoon on Sunday 15th May and the Green Woodpecker flew west over the back fence at 6.24pm this evening.

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