Sunday 6th September - Home

Slightly intermittent domestic duties this weekend meant I didn't get the chance for a trip out.  So on Sunday, which was exceptionally sunny with little wind, in between taking the girls places, I set up outside and took the opportunity to watch in the garden  A good haul by garden standards with a list of 36 species by the end of the day, not including the Tawny Owl that was calling last night.

A Greenfinch flock of c12 birds is around at the moment which is good given their seemingly recent decline in numbers. Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Siskin with 4 Bullfinch made up the finch presence.

Many of the smaller birds are now in flocks, so it's a case of waiting for them to move through.  A Chiffchaff and 2 Blackcap were with  Treecreeper, Nutchatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker and the common tit species, which still includes a Marsh Tit.  Song and Mistle Thrush showed once .....and then for the birds of prey.

About a week ago I'd seen what I thought was probably a Goshawk being chased by the local Jackdaws and Magpies over the trees at the edge of the field, The view was briefed so my ID  was based on it wasn't a Buzzard and was too big for a Sparrowhawk with a unique flight pattern. This morning a similar fuss was being made by the Jackdaws and Magpies in the dense trees in the depth of the gully, I couldn't see anything and eventually they dispersed, about an hour later I saw a large raptor go over the chicken pen and landed near the top of one of the Alders but within the canopy. I managed to get a scope on what I could see of the bird and it was definitely a Goshawk, plumage made it a 2nd year female. It was big and barred with more brownsh than grey colouration. It had an odd stance in the tree sitting with drooped wings. It's shorter tail and pattern were clear enough and after about 5 minutes it flew off- so the first Goshawk I've seen perched in the garden.

6 Common Buzzards, 2 Hobbys and a Kestrel made up the other raptors, but surprisingly no Sparrowhawk, which is often seen most frequently . Then around 5pm I saw a bird fly into the Plum tree at the edge of the Chicken pen,and I was thinking it would be a male Sparrowhawk. , but to my surprise, despite the view being directly into the sunlight,  it was a young Cuckoo. It flew down into the veggie patch for a while before returning to the same fruit tree and stayed around for 15 minutes before vanishing. I'd only seen one hear this spring in flight and again never one perched in the garden so an unusual success to the day.

Juvenile Cuckoo

Not sure what it was finding in the veggie beds

Seemed to favour the Plum tree