Spain Day 5

Today was to be the day we caught up with the wallcreepers on the cliffs at Alquézar.  

But first a post-breakfast stroll in the hotel gardens showed it was good for finches too, notably a couple of greenfinches and as many hawfinches as I've ever seen in the same place:

Greenfinch

Hawfinch

It's only the third time I've seen hawfinches. The early morning light from behind doesn't do justice to the colouration of either bird.

When we got to Alquézar I must admit I was pretty much bowled over by the first views of the place - it looked stunning!

Alquézar

So after a brief tramp through the town we settled down on the seats opposite the cliff face for a full day vigil.

Quite quickly someone managed to spot a blue rock thrush, which of course I didn't manage to see until someone else pointed it out in painstaking detail.  Once I found it the picture I got at considerable distance suggested I'd done the right thing by changing the camera settings.  A first for me, it was to turn up periodically through the day.

Then around 11.00 am the wallcreeper was spotted at the far left edge of the cliff face, only for it it disappear behind the cliff edge almost as soon as it had appeared as the rest of the group hurried over to see if they could get it in a 'scope or camera.  And I did actually see it, but just as a tiny black speck against the horizon that I could never have identified.  Then it was gone behind the cliff edge.

I think we assumed it would return.  When it didn't, we moved behind the capella to survey the rocks on the other side.  Here there were quite a few things to be seen - a perching griffon vulture, sardinian warbler, and notably alpine accentor...

Alpine Accentor

Sardinian Warbler

... whereby I'm only showing the warbler because it's the first time I've managed to capture it.  It flew off before I went for the close-up.

After lunch the vigil continued.  Various birds turned up including a lot of vultures on a thermal, a peregrine falcon, numerous crag martins, black redstart and rock dove.

At one point I saw a single honey bee near the foot of a wee tree where we were standing.

I had noticed that most people were surveying the main cliff and the left hand edge where the wallcreeper first appeared.  So I decided to focus on the castella and the right hand cliff where it was known that the wallcreeper had landed on previous occasions.

Well all I got for my pains was more crag martins and blue rock thrushes, though it was fascinating to see how the ivy growing up the rock had been colonised by a mass of blackcaps that kept appearing and reappearing.

Blue Rock Thrush

Blackcap (female)

I think we jacked it in around 5.00 pm.  I later jokingly remarked that we should have persevered for another hour or so but I don't think it went down too well.

In a later debriefing session, one of our guides pointed out that the alpine accentor was a much rarer bird than the wallcreeper.

You win some and lose some I suppose.  At least I can claim I saw both, which not everyone did.

Signs of Life

Nature is only progressing slowly through an extremely wet cool spell.

Reckoning I had tracked down where the mandarin ducks on the Derwent have been appearing, I took a look for them a few weeks ago without success but did manage to identify a buff-tailed bumblebee hunting for somewhere to nest,

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen

A few days later it was at last warm enough to sit out in the summerhouse for a while.  I didn't take a camera not expecting to see anything but one of a couple of ladybirds trapped inside proved to be a harlequin ladybird.  It looked half-dead so I put it down thinking to photograph it later but it obviously moved off while I was finishing a coffee.  Apparently they can invade buildings in large numbers.

Meanwhile a chiffchaff had turned up and settled briefly on a plant pot, so it was the only time I have seen my first chiffchaff of the year before hearing one..

Last Saturday, I took a roundabout bike ride and caught a brief glimpse of a yellowhammer.  Stopping briefly at the feeders at Weetslade Country Park, nothing special was visiting but another buff-tailed queen was milling round noisily.

However I did manage to disturb a single red admiral on my way back up Blaydon Burn - so it was my first butterfly sighting of the year (30th March).

Today I decided to visit Rainton Meadows as an identified promising area, as there were no major sightings reported elsewhere.

The ponds were a bit disappointing as views were partially obscured and the ducks as you would have expected and a good way off.  One greylag goose looked to be enjoying the sunshine at the pond's edge.

Greylag Goose

While exploring the woodland areas, and mainly getting lost, I did however come across an early bumblebee nectaring on gorse.

Early Bumblebee

There were also a couple of pleasing moments when a comma landed briefly, and another red admiral was disturbed by my passing.

Near Joe's Pond there was a bullfinch rooting in the undergrowth and, best of all on the Coalfield Path, a lovely if brief display by a singing blackcap.

Missed Opportunities

The last few days have been a series of near misses.

Last week I went looking for waxwings on a track near Killingworth and, for the second time this winter, found that I had arrived a day too late and the main flock and all the berries had disappeared.  So I decided to make a call at Gosforth Park where a bittern has been appearing.  

I managed to guess which hide it would be near and there were four of us waiting for it to poke its nose pout from the reeds.  Unfortunately it had decided not to do so until we had all disappeared, which one by one we duly did.  The only other noteworthy thing I saw was a little egret on the scrape

On Monday I took a trio to venue I hadn't previously heard of - Pow Hill Country Park near Derwent Water as there had been some crossbills sighted.  In fact there wasn't much doing apart from one female according to a twitcher, so I contented myself with some experimental photography of some mallards on the lake a couple of hundred yards away to compare different modes on the new camera. This was the declared winner:

Mallards

It was taken in bird mode.  The runner up in automatic mode was also perfectly acceptable, unlike the P mode which seems to over expose considerably.  I must be doing something wrong.

There was an area near the car park where woodland birds seemed to gather so I decided to check it out.  Prospects were initially dimmed by a bloke in a high vis jacket and leading two dogs plus wife, who decided to walk straight through the area I was surveying. 

When I went back a bit later something interesting happened.  Another family man turned up and starting stretching his hand out and the wee birds clearly knew he was offering bird food. Sure enough he soon had coal tits and chaffinches eating from his hand.  I know this can take place but had never seen it before.  It also became obvious that there was bird food on some of the old tree trunks in the same clearing and all the birds seemed to have little fear of people.

In terms of sightings, it was another period where my own garden produced more than my trips out.  Having not been seen for some time, both nuthatch and woodpecker turned up in the space of the couple of days.

I mentioned last time that a blue tit was feeding on the mahonia bush.  This has continued and early one morning I noticed a bird that wasn't a blue tit doing the same, though often in the depths of the bush.  I eventually caught a glimpse of a reddish head and thought it must be a redpoll.  On closer inspection though it proved to be an overwintering female blackcap, as had happened to or three years back.  I wonder if it was the same bird...

Female Blackcap

A ladybird spot or two

On Saturday I went on another Natural History Society walk at The Spetchells in slightly gloomy weather - again.  Compared to the Morpeth one a few weeks ago it was a bit disappointing.  It was a large group of about 20, which limited the opportunity to share sightings with others and not as well organised.

The first twenty minutes of a planned two hours were actually spent foraging in the undergrowth at the edge of the Tyne leading to a sudden yomp to the Spetchells, by which time I had captured what I thought was an interesting bee but couldn't catch up with the leaders to check.  In fact it was probably just a buffish mining bee that was carrying a lot of pollen.

Buffish Mining Bee with pollen

I had been hoping to see an ashy mining bee but as far as I'm aware the subject didn't come up.  

Nevertheless some interesting sightings occurred.  While still next the Tyne I caught sight of a very small ladybird that only two spots.  It was of course a two-spot ladybird.  This was quite pleasing as it was the first time I've identified one of the less common ones.

Two-Spot Ladybird

As the main group didn't manage to get more than about three hundred yards into The Spetchells, some including myself foraged ahead.  I managed to find two dingy skipper and a couple of red-tailed bumblebees.  The photos aren't up too much, in the latter case because of the bug tube I used.

Dingy Skipper

Red-tailed Bumblebee

There were some nifty wee bees moving around the clumps of speedwell that eluded both camera and bug box though I did get a good view.  Apparently they were red-girdled mining bees.  The diversity of mining and nomad bees never ceases to amaze!

Before we got ushered back, I did a quick check for common blues but the bird's foot trefoil was only just starting to show and none were to be found.  I did however catch up with a single red admiral catching a fleeting bit of sunshine - the first I have seen this summer.

Back at the Tyne we could hear but not see a singing blackcap and earlier there had been a few willow warblers and someone reported hearing a garden warbler.  I don't even know what they sound like.

Still unsure about what to do about the ongoing jackdaw invasion, it was however interesting to observe that one of the visitors is slightly leucistic on both flanks.

Slightly leucistic Jackdaw

Staying at home..

Just I was starting to relax a little bit I got Covid and annoyingly could not accompany Alex and Vicki on their visit to Leighton Moss where they got good sightings of marsh harriers and booming bitterns.

I had to put up with more modest fare in the back garden.

Quite amusing was the antics of this squirrel, which attempted to shin up the plum tree but was put off several times when the chicken carcass that was on offer started to flap around in a threatening manner.  Then followed a period of unsure meanderings on the decking before it managed to pluck up courage again.

Squirrel chickens out

Almost immediately afterwards, a male blackcap turned up in the tree but I failed to let it settle before getting excited and it was off again straight away.

A couple of days before this had happened two male nuthatches visited the feeders together, which struck me as slightly odd but they also departed sharply, as did the jay that briefly landed on the back fence.

One more consistent visitor has been a thrush who has been showing some interest in the results of my garden tidy up.

Thrush

I'm thinking it's a song thrush.

So far there has been no sign of any bees or butterflies.

I should get out more but of course it's not advised.

Wednesday 4th March

A prolonged period of low temperatures to end winter plus a couple of domestic inconveniences have set a limit on my recent activities.

Unfortunately the latter have included a couple of nature-related issues. A small garden tree with interesting weepy twigs gave up the ghost during the winter storms and keeled over, so there was nothing for it but to chop it up and take it to the tip.

Slightly more distressing was the sight of fluffy flakes descending from the area of my roof. It proved that some starlings had broken through the cladding and were making merry with my loft insulation.  Fortunately there had been no attempt at nesting so it was simply a case of getting the hole blocked so they couldn't get in. I've no idea what they were doing - just roosting or stealing themselves some material for a nest elsewhere but the resulting mess isn't simple to tidy up.

One walking and a couple of cycle runs on better days having produced nothing of note, the garden has pretty much been the total focus of my attention.

The female blackcap appeared once again on the feeders after the mahonia had wilted, but not again, making it unclear whether the mahonia was the main attraction as is my instinct.

At the end of last week there was a sign of Spring when a pair of bullfinches turned up to steal some of the shoots sprouting by the back fence. The male didn't hang around but his partner was more patient and hung around for a while, breakfasting on the buds.

Bullfinch

I think that is the first time a bullfinch has been spotted from my kitchen window,  Then today there was another first when, at distance I caught sight of a treecreeper shinning up the bald oak tree by the burn.

I think there may also have been a visit from a bird of prey.  Yesterday one of the feeders was found on the grass where it had fallen from the pear tree.  I assumed misbehaviour by jackdaws or squirrels as per normal but on closer inspection I noticed that there were a few small feathers lying around.  So it looks like a tit might have been taken from the feeder by presumably a sparrowhawk, or quite possibly a merlin as they definitely occur here.

As they say, I will never know.

Sunday 9th February

Lady Blackcap put in a couple more appearances over the past week, oscillating between the feeders and the mahonia.  The latter is now sadly depleted, which may be the end of her visits. Luckily I did manage to snap this fairly typical and somewhat charming pose. Still rather unclear though, as she tends not to stay in the same place for long.

Blackcap

I also finally managed to get to Wallington Hall, if by a rather roundabout route. The common crane that has been sighted in Northumberland over the past few weeks is actually in the immediate area so I went up for a bit of a scout around.  This proved unsuccessful, though I did with another birdwatcher managed to pick up a few tips about access from a local lady out with her dog.

So I went round to Wallington as a reserve, with the notion that bramblings might be a possibility.  There was quite a bit stirring at the heavily laden feeders over a period of time, including most notably loads of coal tits, a nuthatch and a couple of glimpses of a marsh tit. Initially there was also plenty of chaffinches but I couldn't find a brambling among them.  I noticed that, every now and again, all the birds suddenly dispersed and suspected a bird of prey in the area.  Sure enough, a male sparrowhawk parachuted in right below one of the feeders and started looking around for easy prey.

After he flew off and birds slowly returned, a treeecreeper turned up and, as on my last visit, started to become more of a groundcreeper, picking up sunflower seeds that were lying about beneath the tree.

Sparrowhawk

Groundcreeping treecreeper

So quite a rewarding visit for a fallback!

Thursday 30th January

What is it about the Great British Garden Birdwatch?

Every year I sit down for an hour at the back window for an hour, see very little and what I do see doesn't reflect what might typically appear on a normal day.

So last Sunday the only tit to turn up was the blue tit and its only rival for 'most frequent garden visitor', the jackdaw, just managed one very token appearance.  Instead a couple of starlings, which I almost never see, turned up to give the mistaken appearance that Britain's second most common garden bird is a regular with me too.

The next day of course all the usual tits turned up including the long-tailed tit, which has probably visited in the largest numbers over the past month. To 'cap' it all a female blackcap appeared on the feeders and turned up again yesterday, rather uncomfortably consuming something or other from the mahonia petals.

Female Blackcap

I've mentioned before that blackcaps are tending to overwinter more in the North.  Apparently there are also some birds from Germany and North Eastern Europe that have changed their migration patterns and appear as winter visitors. Obviously it isn't possible to judge which type this bird was.

The starlings have also come back and I am actually pleased as at least they are able to diminish the continuing glut of fatballs shunned by most of the other birds.

Otherwise I haven't been getting out much.  I've been having work done around the house and spending a lot of time on the computer.  A planned trip to Wallington Hall to see bramblings last Friday fell through when I ended up in bed with a heavy cold.

Tuesday 13th August

Again not too much to report...

I went on a walk near Castle Howard with my daughter and her boyfriend on Sunday but not too much turned up in spite of some nice scenery with some impressive oaks and hornbeams. We did get a good view of some blackcaps in a bush (a lot of blackcaps this year?) plus the customary goldfinches and speckled wood butterflies and a momentary glimpse of a hornet.

Lake near Castle Howard

One thing that did puzzle us was this flower which was growing in large fields and was presumably cultivated as a rotational crop. Anyway we couldn't identify what it was.

Mystery crop

Apart from that and the smallest shetland pony I have ever seen, there was nothing further to note.

Yesterday a rather raggeldy looking red kite flew over the estate.  Nothing new has turned up in the garden.

In the evening I went out with the U3A Naturewatch group to look for nightjars near Slaley.  They have appeared there for the last couple of years but it was a rather wet and dark evening and all I saw was a furtive hare at dusk and a few pigeons.  A while after dusk we did hear some churring but at a such distance it wasn't even worth recording.

At the moment I have the feeling of being in a bit of a nature void. Summer is pretty much over and autumn hasn't started.

Monday 30th April

There have been some interesting appearances on the bird feeders to be noted and recently we have had jackdaw and male woodpecker.

Furtive Jackdaw

Male Woodpecker

I think this pretty much completes the photo sequence of regular visitors apart from wood pigeon who I haven't bothered with and magpie who takes fright as soon as I reach for the camera.

Over the past weeks I have been out a few times and the accent has been on nature walks and botany.  The only bike ride was last Thursday when I took a look around Gibside followed by a fairly chaotic attempt to cycle back home via Track 14 and Chopwell Woods.

For an estate Gibside has obvious potential and I did see my first willow warbler by the cycle track and the first of several plants I couldnt identify in Chopwell Woods, plus of course the inevitable grey squirrel.

On Friday I went on the Prudhoe U3A walk in Whittle Dene with no idea what to expect. It turns out the area is an ancestral forest and the botanical experts in the group could point out several specialised flowers and trees, notably wood avens, marsh marigold, spindle, wood anenome and opposite-leaved golden saxifrage.  Frankly I was well out of my depth but absorbing at least some of this knowledge and appreciating the at times stunning scenery made for a rich experience.

Wood Anenome

Wood Avens

I did however spot a lone small tortoiseshell and managed to identify the song of a small group of blackcaps that obligingly showed themselves shortly afterwards.  My other observation was that there were no fish to be seen in the burn - hopefully not another sign of successful otter preservation. It was also good to learn that one of the plants we saw (garlic mustard) occurs in my new garden and is a food plant for the orange tip caterpillar.

On Saturday, my sister and I attended a supposed drop in at Gosforth Park Nature Reserve, except that the guy who was hosting it seemed a bit surprised that anyone turned up.

On the way to Hide 2 we had good views of at least one sparrowhawk moving through the trees, saw a couple of overflying waders (common sandpipers??) and heard what we thought to be a sedge warbler.

On the lake itself there wasn't too much happening but I enjoyed watching the antics of a couple of common terns performing acrobatics and swooping to (presumably) catch flies just above the water's surface.  Amongst the commoner inhabitants (little grebe, black-headed gull, shoveler, canada goose, tufted duck) one greylag posed nicely right in front of the hide.

Greylag Goose

Sunday 14th May

Well things really have taken off on the nature front over the past eight days!

After a full day stuck in the house last Saturday, I managed to get out for a teatime walk on the river by Threave Castle. The most striking thing on the way to the ferry landing was the number of red kites following the farm vehicles working on the land. There was actually a sign towards the end of the walk noting that they do this to catch insects and worms that get churned up, plus any small animals that might get killed.  It was certainly a spectacle!

Ospreys were then duly spotted in the distance in and flying over the nest.  I then spent a longish time confirming a view of a peregrine falcon that is now nesting on the castle itself.  At first the sun was a nuisance, then I ended up taking pictures from upstream, which meant it was mostly a rear view.  But the poor pictures I got confirmed the slate grey back and a hint of white at the neck.  Curiously a crow landed very near it as if looking for a chance to steal some eggs and the peregrine did nothing to chase it off.

Up by the weir there were numerous green-veined whites playing amongst the bluebells. Also sighted were willow warbler, blackcap a couple of lapwing, some orange tips and (as on previous visits) a cheeky robin begging for food. Oh, and another in the series of (for me) hard to identify pink flowers.

But the best photograph I got was of this swallow peering over the roof of one of the farm buildings. I don't think s/he meant to look as angry.

Swallow

As I left a couple of people arrived who were looking for otters.

Thursday 19th May

It's amazing how interesting species can turn up all of a sudden in quick succession.

Last Wednesday I deliberately planned a bike route through Laurieston Forest that would give me a chance of seeing a cuckoo.  A couple of years ago one of the guys that cycle on Wednesday got a really good view of one just on the Forest edge.

Once up there, a cuckoo was about and easy enough to hear but obviously at a fair distance. On the way back from Twynholm I saw an orange tip butterfly for the second time (first was on a brief ride on the previous Sunday) plus a couple of goldfinches.

Bluebells at Castramon Woods

This Tuesday there were clear signs that the dry weather that had prevailed for over a week was on the way out, I decided on a trip to Castramon Woods in the hope of a pied flycatcher, wood warbler or redstart...

Frustratingly there was plenty of birdsong around but everything was up in the tree canopy and not really showing.  No wood warblers calling at all. Apart from various tits, the birds  I saw most were male blackcaps and interestingly in greater numbers than I've seen before and no females. The disappointment for the lack of sightings was partly made up for by the beautiful spread of bluebells that covered virtually the whole of the woods. Stunning!

On the point of leaving, I heard a cuckoo calling up the valley, but once again at some distance.

Yesterday's bike ride was to Crocketford.  To allow a bit of relaxation time, I decided on the shortest
way their via Lochfoot, not the most obvious choice for potential spottings.

But just after crossing the A75, I noticed a constant churring and grumbling sound coming from the hedgerow and stopped the bike parallel with what I fairly quickly worked out had to be a reed warbler, singing away twenty to the dozen. Of course it took fright when I made to get the camera out no more than three yards away but I was most surprised for it to turn up on agricultural land a good mile away from the loch.  Apparently newly arrived migrants can do this sometimes.

At the loch itself I saw a reed bunting in the reeds.  Although nothing new, it is a while since I saw one.

Part of the thinking in setting out late was to take time on the way back in an attempt to see a cuckoo coming through the Glenkilns where I saw one for the first time.  I duly stopped at the Craigadam Woodland, scene of my last success, and heard nothing.  Moving on to the eastern end of the Craigadam area, I stopped at the far track and found I could hear a cuckoo, again in the distance.  I stayed and it seemed to be geeting a bit nearer, though still back up the forest path.

Eventually moving on, I reckoned I could hear it again.  Looking up I saw a bird in flight that might well have been a cuckoo, probably moving round after the ladies.

Female Whinchat - honest!

At this point I stopped and happened to see another bird, playing around on the dead twigs in the moorland.  It looked very light in colour initially, so, discounting a pipit, I got the binoculars out for a closer look. It hung aroud, retiring to the fence posts and I noticed that it had a strong head pattern and a reddish breast that only showed when the light was on it.  So it dawned on me it was a whinchat, no rarity perhaps but not a common sighting either.

At this point, I heard cuckoo noises again and turned around just in time to see him, settling in a tree just down the road. It was only a brief sighting as it also fled quickly when I got the camera out, but it was a bit closer than when I've seen them before. All I had for a souvenir was a photo of the tree, but never mind...  

  

This tree had a cuckoo on it - honest!

Thursday 5th May

I'm playing catch up again here.

Not much more happened mid April until I departed for my planned holiday in Naples.  This should have included a couple of nature outings, but inconsistent weather and poor local cycling limited the scope to get outdoors a little.  The main trip I did manage was to the Parco Virgiliano along the Naples peninsular at Posillipo. This is pretty much an urban Sunday stroll but on the 24th, cooler

Stone Pines

temperatures and occasional showers perhaps reduced visitor numbers.

The approach to the park is lined by rows of massive conifers that I was pleased to identify as stone pines, though I had less luck in identifying subsequent local species of tree apart from some almond willows and some lemon trees already in fruit.

During some intermittent spells of sunshine, a couple of wall butterflies and a red admiral showed themselves but, curiously, it wasn't until I was sheltering under a disused ice cream stand that I started to pick out some of the bird species.

A serin parked itself on top of an unpromising bare treetop a few yards away and shortly afterwards, a pair of hooded crows settled briefly in roughly the same area.  Apart from a very dubious possible

Callistemon

sighting at Balcary some time back, this is the first time I've seen them, so it was a pity they couldn't stay to pose for the camera.

I had been seeing some sparrow like birds creeping around in the hedgerows and tree foliage. Whilst again sheltering briefly next to the ladies toilets (!), I found I was seeing them again while looking up into a shrub with spiky red flowers that I believe was a callistemon.

A little bit of book work in my German Book of European Birds revealed that it was in fact an italian (cisalpine) sparrow, an

Italian Sparrow

interesting species or sub-species depending on your point of view.  The opinion of the German Book of European Birds is that it is a cross between a house sparrow and a spanish sparrow (Weidensperling). Little matter - it basically looks like a house sparrow with a totally brown head.

More italian sparrows and serins turned up at different times and I also identified a couple of mail blackcaps. They looked a bit slimmer and more agile than UK blackcaps, but I decided they weren't sardinian warblers (Samtkopf-Grasmücke). These matters get very complicated in mainland Europe!

Two days later I was visiting Pompeii and, although not on nature alert, was pleased to see a swallowtail and a couple more wall butterflies on the wing, as well as a few wall lizards creeping over the remains.  I didn't allow myself to check out the birdlife, as there is more than enough to see at Pompeii in a day.

Altogether a pleasing result for what threatened to be a non-nature holiday.

Spot the wall lizard

Sunday 8th November

During a fairly busy week managed to slot in a bike ride from Ae village up to Durisdeer and back via Thornhill and Auldgirth. Unfortunately there was consistent mist and a lot of mizzle so there was no need for my polaroid clip-ons, which of course I had with me precisely when they were of no use
whatsoever.

Reception Committee

There were some notable gatherings of chaffinches, gradually building into their flocks for the winter when they will be seen in considerable numbers. Up on the moors there were a few pipits about but nothing more when I paused at the summit, apart from the obvious disapproval of the members of the local Conservative Club who do not like intruders. After that I paused briefly at Morton Pond, wondering what the fishing is like these days. Overall lots of green vegetation still, but lots of mud on road and bike.

On the way back there was a strange occurence when I disturbed a brownish bird in the hedgerow.  It made to fly in front of the bike but realised it hadn't the time. Quick as a flash it doubled back and dived straight through the front and back wheels right underneath my feet as they pedalled along at around 12 mph. Understandably there is no photographic evidence and I doubt if anything like it will ever happen again. I think it was a sparrow.

Also just managing to evade the camera was a male blackcap that briefly turned up in the low trees at the back of my neighbour's garden. That one must have been lost as well as late, I thought. However it seems that Blackcaps are starting to overwinter in the UK, so who knows.

Saturday 23rd May

Yesterday took a trip to Ken Dee Marshes Reserve with my sister Hilary, and had some resonable luck in seeing one or two things that were new for her.

Having pursued a couple of bullfinches on the road to the reserve, we quickly saw some kites and two or three lapwings displaying, which again surprised me.  But Hilary thinks they may have been trying to scare off intruders from an area where they had already nested.

Approaching a wooded area, there was a consistent grumbling from the bushes, which I was able to attribute to a sole sedge warbler, a bit of a bonus sighting but one she hadn't experienced.

Further along we agreed on a fleeting sighting of a female blackcap, which however we both saw, plus a few willow warblers, which were around at most places we sampled.

In the middle hide, a nuthatch quickly turned up on the left feeder before we concentrated on trying to identify some of the ducks on the loch, some of the mallards not for a while appearing very mallard-like at a distance.  Then, to my delight a willow tit turned up a few times on the middle feeder, and I even managed a brief video of it (plus background music from a colony of black-headed gulls).  This was only my second willow tit sighting and I don't think Hilary appreciated how seldom they are seen these days.

Next we visited the main area for pied flycatchers with the various nesting boxes and did manage to see four or five birds fleetingly, although it was a touch disappointing in that visits to the boxes were infrequent and we could not get very clear views of any individual birds.

In the furthest hide another nuthatch turned up on the feeder, followed by various tit visits including several more from willow tits, some long-tailed tits in the background and eventually a greater spotted woodpecker. Apparently there were some garden warblers around but we didn't find them. In the meantime we managed to pick out a shoveler on the loch and agreed that there had been one or two amongst the earlier mallards.

On the way home there were several more red kites, including one very good view of one perching in a tree. Hilary says they perch when they are starting to nest.

One feature of trips with her is definitely that four eyes are better than two.  It makes you wonder how mch you miss when you are out alone.

Saturday 19th April

Away for the weekend at Kirkby Lonsdale with a girlfriend - trip to Leighton Moss where I have wanted to go for some while.  She saw a male marsh harrier before we even reached the car park.  I was somewhat sceptical but it proved to be correct as we saw it several times and once it flew more or less straight over us.  Also had an excellent view of a reed warbler singing in a bush right next to us and saw a male blackcap as well as numerous ducks including gadwall (a first I believe) and tufted ducks.  Listened for bearded tit but no sign and no avocets.  Did not see bittern.

Wednesday 29th May

Bike ride from New Galloway to Barstobrick and a good one for wildlife. Investigated possible whitethroat hiding in small tree north of Mossdale that turned out to be a sedge warbler. Pipits heard but again not seen. Bullfinch north of Laurieston and two red deer plus a few orange tips further south.

Reed warbler on small tree on way back plus curlew and oystercatcher. Went via Ken Dee marshes and saw red kite and greylag goose on way over hills from Laurieston. Paused at seat where pied flycatcher boxes are and found that two were being used by them. Also sighted female blackcap on path, probable garden warbler and heard wood warbler calling in trees.

Arrived home to find nesting box used by sparrows all askew with no evidence of why. Parent birds are still visiting but no nestlings heard.

Tuesday 8th May

Conntinued easterly winds and very cool weather have meant all thoughts of fishing have been postponed.  Managed morning trip to Ken Dee Marshes as a first attempt at spotting wood warbler, green woodpecker and willow tit.  Never sure about this place.  The area noted for wood warblers seemed decidedly quiet again although I did hear some trilling from a distance and saw the bird but too far away to identify.  No sign either of pied flycatcher.  Did however see treecreeper and female wheatear (never seen either here before) as well as pink footed geese.  There was a moment of excitement when I caught sight of a bird with dark head markings at the edge of the main woodland - but it turned out to be a fluffy looking male blackcap.

Also three red squirrels on brief walk to Lockerbie Wildlife Reserve some time before this.