Buses

Common Whitethroats.  Like buses, you never see one and then they come one after the other.  In addition to the two this morning, one more along the path behind Westwood Grange, running south through the farmer's field, and another at West H at the east end of the hedge that separates the NE and SE field.

Best of this morning's list additions was a surprise as I walked the hound through the Nelson Ind. Estate at 10:00am or thereabouts, with the characteristic song of a Lesser Whitethroat from the bushes to the immediate north of the car park entrance at CMP Products, Neslon Way.

Back for a non-dog look just after 11 and it was still there, but started to make its way north from bush to tree and bush to tree always a second ahead of my camera!

At Last!

Couldn't sleep, so up and 5:01 (yes, there are two 5 o'clocks in a day!) and out soon after.  Wessie H was very quiet (apart from a reeling Gropper in NE field), two Coots and three Shelduck being the nadir.

Arcot was dead too.  No Otter, and the only water-borne Aves where Mallard drakes and a(nother) Gropper east of the lake.

However, from the far NE corner, several bursts of Sedge Warbler.  Bonus!

So a walk from the north end of Beacon Lane was still possible, given Sainsbury's was open at 7am and that was ages away (a man can't live on birds alone).

Between the two s-bends, in the hedge, the belated sound of Common Whitethroat.  Another bonus!  And a second bird near the stile into the lake's NE field.

And (yet) a(nother) Gropper reeling from the plantation NE of the stile on t'other side of t'lane.

And again!

Otter at Arcot again this morning, but not showing as well as yesterday.  No new migrants seen/heard - Sedgies and Whitethroats still to come - but a nice pair of Shovelers present.

West Hartford - two pairs of Shelduck, one SEO, and the usual suspects.

Arcot Otter

06:28 to 06:53 today, the wee minx was performing very well for the camera (shame the camera was not performing well for the Otter).  Little else birdwise, more's-the-pity.  Son had borrowed the proper camera so I had to make do with the digiscoping one; 'still life' is difficult enough, but a water-borne, live subject.......

The Great Divide

Getting challenging, this patch work approach I have got into this year.  I am sure the carbon footprint is smaller, albeit nearly 100% has been deposited within a two-mile radius of home.  But it's both hard and interesting. 

Hard, because it can be fatiguing when birds are seen by others and despite many hours looking, I fail.  Cases in point lately?  Lesser Whitethroat and Sand Martin, to name but two.

Interesting, through seeing what arrives and departs and how long it stays.  And in so doing, getting enthused by an event that last year would have been missed or not fully appreciated.

I've seen Roe Deer, Red Squirrel, Otter, Weasel, Stoat, Fox and Hare.  Superb!  The Otter has not been seen at Arcot since Wednesday.

This week, four Tufties at West Hartford (this morning, 3M/1F) along with pairs of Mute Swan, Canada Geese and Shelduck (2) plus the loner.  Arcot's Little Grebe were still there, with another Mute pair, another Tuftie pair, Coots and Mallard.  Pleasant but somewhat mundane.

Yet a couple of miles away at Peter F's patch, Blackwits, Redstart, Whimbrel, Sedgies and more.  Plenty of similar habitat in NE23, but no birds.

I must change my deodorant!