Red Kites over the garden and into the sun

 
Recently barely a week goes by without us seeing Red Kites from the garden. Sometimes they're impossibly high, like one I saw yesterday and then sometimes as today, they're low, noisily cart-wheeling above the house. They're all quite brilliant and make up for many a barren walk of seeing nothing much in the forest.

First local Nightjar for many years

Having spent five fruitless nights listening for Nightjars and not having heard any local birds for many years, I'd just about abandoned any chance of finding one for this year.

So tonight, I decided I'd concentrate on looking for another declining bird, the Woodcock. I went down to the woods, camera in-hand, and positioned myself with a clear view over some scrub with the sun behind me. As I waited, I noted that there was still the odd Nightingale and two Willow warblers singing, but the big singers are still the local Song Thrushes with at least four birds singing loudly.

After 45 minutes, the mosquitos were beginning to get annoying. There were many moths on the move and the local Tawney Owls were beginning to call - yet still no Woodcock. This year I believe there are just one or two are roding and so fairly easy to miss. Oh well, I thought, I'll call it a day.

I packed my camera back into its case and headed back to the car. As I got into my stride, I looked up at the silhouetted pine trees with an impressive moon above, and then, as easy to see as you like, a wonderful Nightjar skimming across the canopy like a giant butterfly. I just had time to recognise its unmistakable slim and angular profile before it was gone out of sight. Frustratingly, there was no time for a picture. The bird reminded me more of Common Nighthawks: those that I had seen in Canada fed earlier than our birds and are not particularly shy, either. And so that was it. No returning flight and no churring calls, but most definitely my first Nightjar for many years.

A single Woodcock was to follow and with a Turtle Dove purring in the garden at 6.00 am and juvenile Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at Alex's Pastures on Sunday morning, its been a very good couple of days.

Mid - May migrant arrivals garden and forest

Good news, 2 Turtle Doves and one Cuckoo are now present in the Stone Wood area. The last 2 days have seen a nice arrival of Spotted flycatchers in Orlestone forest. Also 2 Hobbys surveying high over the garden. There's many more Swallows around now with birds often sitting on our TV aerial. House Martins too are ever present plus the occasional Swift.  Favoured habitats in Orlestone are 'alive' with the sound of Nightingales, Garden Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff, even Willow Warblers seem to be here in better numbers this year.

In the garden a Broad Bodied Chaser left the pond on Thursday, Grass Snakes are present daily too, and the nesting House Sparrows survived a Great Spotted Woodpecker raid on the nest boxes. Spotted flycatcher here briefly yesterday and one Cuckoo is calling regularly too.

Spotted flycatchers, Packing Wood - no time to waste!

Choosing a nest site, Spotted Flycatchers at Packing Wood

Yesterday's arrival of warmer and settled weather brought the first of our scarce Spotted flycatchers migrants to Shadoxhurst. I saw 2 birds at Alex Pastures and one make a fleeting visit to the garden.

Today, plodding around Packing Wood, I discovered this pair already paired-up and about to start nest building. Spotted Flycatchers often choose precarious nest sites, and this site is no exception, nothing more than an angled piece of tree bark leaning on a thin branch.

Also in Packing wood, where the timber has been cleared underneath the electricity lines, there is now a mile long swathe of fading blue bells, attracting many insects. Most obvious are the Brimestone butterflies, up to 12  chasing around yesterday. Also present, were Hairy Hawker and Broad Bodied Chaser Dragonfly.

Grizzled Skipper and Early Purple Orchid at Alex Pastures SSSI

Grizzled Skipper on Blue Bell

Early Purple Orchid

Same individual as top picture

Second individual with a clipped wing.

Visiting the privately-owned Alex Pastures today, I'm reminded how precious the site is and, at the same time, how vulnerable too. The encroachment from Blackthorn is quite a shock to the eyes (from where it was last, just a month ago). Nevertheless, the flora and fauna continues to be bountiful and diverse compared to the countryside that surrounds it. At the entrance, a small display of Early Purple Orchid is a sign of good things to come. On the grassland, the predominate plants at the moment are Bugle, Violets and Primrose. In the sunshine Grizzled skipper (4), Brimstone and Orange-tip criss-cross the paths continually. Lizards seemed particularly abundant and were under the eye of Kestrel and Buzzard above. Nightingale, Blackcap and Garden warbler have all returned in good numbers and were singing well in the mid-day sun. A large Dung Beetle collecting Rabbit droppings was new to me - I could have stayed there all day.

Two Red Kites over Shadoxhurst.

Distant view showing one of  the Red Kites probably over Hamstreet road / Hornash Lane junction

Long over due, the first 2 Red Kites of the year and spotted whilst cutting the garden lawn this afternoon. Originally given a fantastic view, they moved quickly North East and I had no time for a decent photo - but even at a distance the jizz is there.

Packing wood Nightingales

Packing wood is an area quite new to me so tonight it was nice to find two Nightingales singing there and adding extra knowledge on territories in the Orlestone forest area.  They were accompanied by Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Blackcaps. In the sky there, two Buzzards.

Over the house this evening 6 more Buzzards soared elegantly together on a thermal. This is the highest number we've seen over our area.

Buzzard on pylons, near Packing Wood

One of 6 Buzzards over the Garden this evening