What birds (are you/have you been) watching? What birds have been watching you?

[DracoM]

[Serial_Apologist]

Tweet of the Day today was the woodpigeon and I hoped it would enable me to review what I think of it. But it didn't come across especially well except perhaps in its china like appearance.

Or even clay......................

[Serial_Apologist]

More prosaically, they show a marked preference for supermarket car parks (those with cotoneaster bushes, particularly).

Speaking of supermarket car parks, I noticed the return of the starlings down at Bell Green Sainsbury's just now - presumably they'd sussed out the distressed bird broadcasts over the tannoy for what they were; anyway the frighten 'em off signal has now been changed to a car burglar alarm sound!

[Lat-Literal]

Or even clay......................

Oh.

Well, if they said clay I thought of china as they look like china to me.

Ah, the penny has just dropped. They probably did say china and you are talking about clay pigeons.

Confused.

I saw a black bird perched very high next to a cross on an ex church today. It looked symbolic while leaving it to the viewer to decide on the nature of its symbolism. Opposite Tescos. Skateboarders, invisible behind walls, but immediately below it. Thank you to everyone for all your wood pigeon contributions to date......informative and entertaining.

[ardcarp]

Has anyone seen decent numbers of swallows and martins yet? They seem to be late arriving this year here in the Southwest. A few individuals are to be seen, but I guess the prolonged spell of predominantly northerly and north-easterly winds has delayed them. I think a short burst of SW wind is happening today and tomorrow, so maybe they'll take the opportunity to cadge a ride. If they don't, it's going Northerly again from Monday onwards. Will they battle against it as the urge to nest grows stronger?

[Richard Tarleton]

It's been my impression that spring migration has been more of a trickle than a rush - I have noticed more sand martins coming through in the last few days, but certainly not large numbers of anything. Certainly no swifts, with these cold northerlies! But most of the small woodland and reedbed migrants are here even if the weather is keeping them quiet. No cuckoo in usual spots so far

[agingjb]

Plenty of migrants reported in Hampshire, but I've only seen sand martin and chiffchaff so far, and a few other warblers heard. But we did have a pair of firecrests in the garden briefly.

However, robins have bred already.

[ardcarp]

Great to see firecrests! I wonder if they were UK residents or Scandinavian ones trying to get home? (Mrs A. saw a goldcrest in the Autumn.) Yes, robins got off to a 'flying' start and the chicks in our garden have already fledged. It has been a great dry spell for them. I guess they may start work on a second brood.

[greenilex]

The same blackbird pair which got into trouble with my young dog last year have chosen another nest site, not much higher off the ground...it contains at least one large chick. Said dog is still in France with my daughter. I hope the chick fledges and flies this week.

[ardcarp]

Mrs A. saw Dartford Warblers today on the Western side of Poole Harbour.

[Richard Tarleton]

Excellent! Marvellous birds. I saw my first UK Dartfords on Aylesbeare Common in Devon, but my regular spot for them over the years has been Dunwich Heath in Suffolk. They're establishing themselves here in Pembrokeshire.

Cue soliloquy: I love the Sylvia warblers, my favourite family of small birds, cryptic, challenging, nothing to compare with exploring a Mediterranean hillside, all senses tuned, waiting for the slightest churr or tic from the surrounding scrub, or for the scratchy songster to reveal itself on top of a low bush. Just 5 breeding spp in the UK but the identification challenges multiply around the Med. I remember an astonishing - 7, I think it was - in a single area of scrub on Lesvos, during spring migration. The taxonomists keep recognising ever more subspecies - descendants of my very first Mallorcan subalpine warbler (1982) are now called Moltoni's warbler....

I heard my first garden warbler of the season, another Sylvia, the other day - now just waiting for lesser whitethroat to complete the set for this year - I know where to look!

[greenilex]

They probably eat them in Italy...

[Richard Tarleton]

And Cyprus, and Malta, and N Africa.....

It is frightful.

[alycidon]

Just heard our first cuckoo up here by Loch Ness. And it is Spring up here as well.

[vinteuil]

.

... still longing for the swifts