Up and out before dawn (quite a rare occurrence) to listen to the dawn chorus - first up were blackbirds, song thrushes and a pheasant, 
followed by great and blue tits, chaffinches, great spotted woodpecker and finally the migrants.... chiffchaff, blackcap and a calling (not singing) willow warbler.
Dew lay heavy on salad burnet.
In the woods, a carpet of wild garlic next to, but not overlapping, wood anemones.
On the way to work a cursory check of the little owl stump - uninhabited for the winter - found one on its usual perch - another brood on the way?And after work, a fourth vigil in Folkestone to try to see the Alpine swift return to its chosen roosting site was finally successful.
It turned up at 6pm, and treated the waiting throng to an aerial display for a quarter of an hour before flying up to the eaves of a tall building, clinging onto the wall for the night.
It turned up at 6pm, and treated the waiting throng to an aerial display for a quarter of an hour before flying up to the eaves of a tall building, clinging onto the wall for the night.
3 comments:
Great post K. Loved to have caught up with an Alpine. Two came through Alnmouth a couple of weeks ago but its been too cold for any to linger and we are a bit too far north to catch the influx.
Nice one Steve, I wouldn't mind that Swift coming my way :-)
Congratulations on getting the Alpine Swift. Glad to see your efforts paid off at last.
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