... a Wood Warbler singing in Miltonrigg Wood ... with a backdrop of blue skies ... and the emerging leaves fresh and delicate ...
... but going back to the start of the week ...
Monday
The skies were blue as I headed to the uplands of the Geltsdale Reserve ... but the wind was a biting northerly and it felt as cold as any winters day ... now in my 12th year of monitoring / protecting Hen Harriers in the uplands of Cumbria, today was another Harrier day ... with raptor persecution one of the main factors acting against the survival of the now tiny English breeding population, we had not anticipated a further threat coming from a body that ought to be acting in the birds' best interest - Natural England.
With licenses available under the auspices of NE, the Brood Management ( aka Brood Meddling ) plan is a cynical ploy purporting to protect Hen Harriers whereby broods on Grouse Moors can in certain circumstances be moved away until the chicks are well grown and then returned to the uplands. This is in the interests only of Grouse Moor managers and not in the interests of the Hen Harriers - ( it saves the Grouse Shooting Estates killing the Hen Harriers straight away .. they can do it later when the birds are back in the uplands. )
The upshot of this has been a complete lock-down of information coming from Raptor Workers - secrecy is the only friend of Hen Harriers that are anywhere near to Grouse Moors ...
So with the backdrop of Cold Fell, there were birds that can be mentioned ...
... two Cuckoos sang against each other distantly on the hillside ...
... and ( distantly as ever in this landscape ) a Raven perched on a disclosure post ...
Tuesday
April and May are the prime months for skua passage on the Solway .. so arriving two and a half hours before the high tide I scanned from Bowness-on-Solway as the tide started to come in ... a first-summer male Eider drifted in then flew off out and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers flew out ... Barnacle Geese were lifting off the westerly Scottish marshes and flying up the estuary ...
... and just above them two Pomarine Skuas drifting in and circling as they went ... both pale-phase birds ... and as I saw them go out of sight behind trees there were another four birds low over the water - three pale-phase and one dark-phase bird ...
With the tide still rising, some 30 Kittiwakes came in mid-channel and a Red-throated Diver floated by ... and still before the high tide two Great Skuas charged in, well above the horizon and with purposeful flight ...
As the tide pushed waders off the feeding areas, a flock of 45 Whimbrel alighted on the grass to see out the top of the tide ... and a Peregrine circled high over ...
Wednesday
Excited by the skua action, I was ready for more ... but first some woodland birding ... Wood Warblers were singing well in the spring sunshine ... and sometimes 'froze' watchfully ...
... flying to a different song post ...
... and sang again ...
... and a Willow Warbler sang from high up in a bare tree ...
On the Solway the skua movement was less marked than the previous day with only a single pale-phase Pomarine Skua ... although it circled for a while showing off some nice 'spoons' ... and then just one Great Skua ...
... a single Sandwich Tern flew out ...
Thursday
It was the day for the co-ordinated Ring Ouzel count at Geltsdale ... this takes place one hour before sunrise and normally provides rewards in the shape of the sounds of Grasshopper Warblers, drumming Snipe, Black Grouse lekking, Curlews, Lapwings and Cuckoos all eerily coming from the still darkness ...
... not today though ! the wind exceeded the forecast by a good margin ... effectively drowning out all but the closest birds ... as I left the site the sun was just rising ...
With news that the Long-billed Dowitcher has been seen again at Grindon Lough, I headed that way in the afternoon ...
Grindon rarely delivers close views but the Dowitcher was conveniently located in a small gully on the south side ...
... it was not discouraged by the Greylag and Canada Geese it shared the gully with ...
... it demonstrated its typical 'sewing machine' feeding action ...
The birding day was not yet over with the Cumbria Bird Club Records Panel meeting in the evening ... having just taken over as County Recorder in October this was my first event as Chairman of the Panel ... it went well and everyone got along ... phew !
Friday
On the Budge Pool at Druridge a smart male Garganey swam briefly into the open from its preferred location among the vegetation ...
... and way over on the far side a striking male Ruff wandered across a gap in the rushes, followed by a female ...
... and on the main pool a Glossy Ibis preened ...
... and a breeding plumage Black-necked Grebe surfaced from time to time in less than predictable fashion ...
... by the farm buildings the regular Little Owl occupied one of its usual spots ...
... Sedge Warblers were aplenty ...
... and at East Chevington a flock of twenty or so Whimbrel fed in the long grass ...
and flew circuits occasionally ...
Then passing by Grindon Lough for another look at the Long-billed Dowitcher ...
... still keeping the same implausible company ...
