The Magpie's Hoard

First Chiffchaff

This morning I heard the unmistakeable song of a chiffchaff as I walked through Walkley Cemetery. It's the first I've heard this year.

Bigby Boost

A couple of outings at the end of last week enabled me to give my Bigby list a much needed boost.

On Thursday we walked from Youlgreave, through Lathkill Dale and on to Bakewell. Along the way I picked up six new species: mute swan, mandarin duck, goosander, buzzard, little owl and raven.

Friday's trip to Bridlington and Flamborough added a dozen more species: greylag goose, oystercatcher, lapwing, sanderling, dunlin, redshank, turnstone, lesser black-backed gull, herring gull, great black-backed gull, rock pipit and stonechat.

My total now stands at 76 species. Bring on the migrants!
 

More signs of Spring

In our garden this morning:

• fresh frogspawn in the pond;
• wren gathering nest material;
• blackcap singing.

Going coastal

South Landing, originally uploaded by Roger B..

Yesterday Liz and I had a bracing seaside walk along Flamborough Head, from Bridlington to South Landing and back again. The weather was bright and breezy, just right for blowing the cobwebs away.

Sadly, our day out was marred by the journey from Sheffield to Bridlington with Northern Rail. Slow, tardy and expensive, it typified everything that is wrong with public transport in the UK.

Full steam ahead!

Full steam ahead!, originally uploaded by Roger B..

The weather may still be chilly but, for many birds, the breeding season is now well under way.

This morning Liz and I spent a while watching birds along the River Wye in Bakewell, Derbyshire. We witnessed a lot of territorial behaviour, indicating that many birds have paired-off and are becoming less tolerant of their neighbours.

A male mute swan put on an impressive threat display as he chased a rival off his patch. With his wings stiffly arched, he thrust his breast forward and ploughed through the water, creating a turbulent bow wave. All the other waterfowl scattered as he eventually took flight in pursuit, his feet slapping the surface of the water.

Over by the far bank, a pair of dippers were engaged in a running battle with an interloper who had strayed too close to their chosen nest site.

Later in the day, as we walked through Lathkill Dale, we had a very close view of two cock pheasants sparring. Meanwhile, a raven displayed high overhead - repeatedly flipping over in flight and making a bell-like "clonk" call.

Back at home, the robins in our garden began collecting dead leaves earlier this week. It looks as though they are building a nest behind our next door neighbour's shed.

Wintering Blackcap

Wintering Blackcap, originally uploaded by Roger B..

For the past three days, this male blackcap has been skulking about in the magnolia bush outside our kitchen window. He's an aggressive little chap - constantly pursuing smaller birds and trying to steal the food from their beaks.

Wintering Blackcap, originally uploaded by Roger B..