Lockdown ongoing, week 7......

11 May - The weather has at last turned after another week of spring sunshine. The dawn chorus is in full voice, with the suite of local Warblers all present - Garden Warblers and Whitethroats seem to be in good numbers this year, and Lesser Whitethroats are also in reasonable numbers. Cuckoos are also very vocal especially on calm or humid days, and I heard one from the house on 10th, the first here since 2018. Hobbies have been obliging feeding on insects in the fine weather, with a peak of 9 seen at Lower Mill. Swifts are back locally, and screaming over the garden in the evening - fantastic - and numbers of Swallows also seem to have picked up. A few waders are passing through and I was fortunate to see 3 Whimbrel fly up calling from the scrape at Pit 74 last week - a Greenshank was around for a few days, and Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Redshank have all been seen in addition to the resident Oystercatchers. Wheatear passage has petered out at Blakehill, with a second Whinchat finally being seen. The leaves are fully out now, and birdsong will soon quieten as the breeding season begins in earnest.