The two Greenfinches I wrote about the other day brought a youngster in this morning. A streaky juvenile found some sunflower seeds. A fairly unusual sighting over the garden was a Kestrel which circled several times. The Common Buzzard is a more familiar sighting. There are eight Common Swifts flying locally now, about the same number that left last Autumn. I popped down to the estuary first thing and in no time, caught a Cetti's Warbler as it moved through the bushes. It's good to hear, and sometimes see this additional warbler in East Yorkshire. This was an unusual view of Blackcaps, obviously a pair! (Female left, Male right). Reed Bunting.
This long-distance visitor entertained a small group of birders along the road to Flamborough's North Landing this morning. I saw the Rosy Starling just after 6-30a.m. feeding along the roadside, with a few Common Starlings. I've seen three juvenile birds before, but this was my first view of an adult in its splendid pink plumage. Quite a few of the gardens along the road had feeders available and the Rose-coloured Starling readily took to these and was feeding happily. There was a brisk Northerly wind blowing and the black crest on this bird became noticeable at times. I followed up this sighting with a ride up to Bempton Cliffs though I had a feeling the cold Northerly was bringing low cloud in from the North Sea. On arriving, my thoughts turned out to be right and the intermittently poor visibility was rapidly turning into a full-blown fog! I took a few images of close birds in the fog, which give an interesting colouration and some surprising detail, given the poor visibility. 4th yr Gannet. Northern Fulmar. Kittiwake.
I've lived here for over a year now and although winter is spent in the Algarve, I am still mystified as to the lack of birds in the garden.
Practically all the properties are bungalows of varying sizes and the only thing I can put it down to is, the general unwillingness to let anything grow above gutter height. Were it not for the Highways' roadside trees, there would be almost none over a considerable area. Consequently, my bird list still comprises a few scavengers - Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove and a few Starlings. Surprisingly, there is a local pair of Tree Sparrows which fly over often, but where they live is not clear. With all the usual feeders on offer, I have two Greenfinches and a Dunnock! The dawn chorus this Spring has consisted of one Blackbird!! I am trying my best, keeping a rose hedge, many fruit bushes and trees, lawns and a wildlife pond as well as some of my favourite plants. Corsica is still the beautiful island I remember and the development that has gone on in ten years, does not appear excessive. I wish I could say the same for England! The apartment outside Calvi was an ideal setting for the North end of the island, and more so if you are woken by a Golden Oriole singing across the road. A female Oriole. I've never found Corsica to be 'brimming' with birds and it can be hard work at times, in terms of the terrain and dense maquis vegetation which covers a good proportion of the island - and smells beautiful! I achieved 65 species in the week, some not previously mentioned were Montagu's Harrier, Audouin's Gull, Nightingale, Great-crested Grebe, Peregrine, to give an idea of the species spread. One bird I was struggling to find this time and previously widespread, was the Cirl Bunting. I finally located one in the Restonica valley, quite well camouflaged in a Corsican pine. You are never far from fresh water with all the melting snow coming down and Grey Wagtails can be found quite easily. ....... but not usually on the car. Although I didn't see a Lammergeier on this visit, ten raptor species were found. Red Kite pursuing a Common Buzzard.
Oh, and of course the Corsican Nuthatch!! The Citadel and old town of Calvi. We didn't stray too far today to find our birds, in fact this Spotted Flycatcher was often on our balcony. The Hooded Crow could be brought down too with a bit of leftover bread. Across the road from the apartment, I had been scanning the fields and watching three Red Kites and a Common Buzzard when I noticed a distant raptor. Even a long way off, this was definitely my first Booted Eagle in Corsica. I hung around a little longer and watched a number of Common Swifts passing through the fields. The walk North of Calvi bay reveals some stunning coastal scenery and the maquis covered hillsides are hunting territory for several Red Kites. The Red Kite must be the commonest raptor as they occur almost everywhere. The next image is another 'take it from me', as I was far from ready for a female Red-footed Falcon which shot passed me and over the hill. After lunch, a drive on the road from Calvi to Galeria was abruptly stopped when I came across around fifty or so Alpine Swifts. I really do admire this large swift with its 'chittering' call and stark contrast between black and white undersides. There speed is incredible and I can only press the shutter and hope for the best! Just being clever now - flying upside down! High above the Alpine Swifts, my fifth Golden Eagle of the week was seen being harassed by a Raven.
Yesterday's drive was one I have made quite a few times and takes you through some of Corsica's most spectacular scenery. The views of Mte Cinto and Mte Renoso at around 2,650 metres are breath-taking and it is necessary to make this journey, in order to reach the forests of Corsican Pines and hence the endemic Corsican Nuthatch. In the relatively low part of the gorge, while admiring the river shown above, I picked out two eagles circling around the peaks. They were adult Golden Eagles. Obviously at great height, I still took a fair number of images for the record! Kestrel(?) harassing a Golden Eagle. Eventually, the narrow twisting road reaches Haut-Asco, a winter ski-station....... ........ with Corsican Pines!
I began by taking a narrow mountain path, signposted - Mte Cinto. I hoped I wouldn't have to ascend too far!! I heard the high-pitched call of a nuthatch within thirty minutes, I knew approximately where it was but the pines are densely packed together and seeing it was proving very difficult. It also seemed to be moving quickly through the trees between calls. I became aware of another sound rather like a rasping Jay. There were quite a few Jays in the forest, calling loudly, but this call wasn't far away, it should sound louder. A movement on a branch some fifteen metres away revealed my long awaited Corsican Nuthatch. The sound I heard came from the Nuthatch, I've heard the trilling call before but not this Jay-like sound. I am surprised how small the Corsican Nuthatch is compared to the plumper European species and the distinct eye stripes can be seen easily at a distance. My sighting lasted a couple of seconds and it was on the move again. The whole time I was following the nuthatch, it preferred the young pines and must have been moving along the horizontal branches, where it probably feeds on insects. Sadly, there are no photos - I spent the rest of the day working back down the gorge in an attempt to find another nuthatch. On this trip, I didn't find Corsican Finch, or Citril Finch as it was, when I last saw them. Neither did I see Alpine Choughs which I've had before, but I did hear some Corsican Crossbills in the very tall mature pines. This morning was spent in Calvi town, the weather has improved substantially and hopefully the birds are going to come out! The walk along the harbour brings you to the old citadel and the quaint shopping streets. A quick call for provisions was made and then, after coffee it was back to the car. Although I didn't want to go over old ground, having only a week here, I want to see the cloud disappear from the high mountains so another visit to the river Fango at the Five Arches bridge would suffice today. Before leaving Calvi, I made sure I'd got Italian Sparrow among the old houses. Similar to our tree sparrow with the chestnut head and lacking the spreckled chest of the Spanish Sparrow. The scientific ones among us say there is also a Spanish x Corsicana Sparrow but I'm not clued up on that yet!! So, back at the Five Arches bridge I had seen a very dark headed Yellow Wagtail yesterday, distantly I found it again today. Whether it is a ssp Feldegg or Thunbergi, I don't know. The European Flava ssp were much easier to make out, 3 males and a female were seen together feeding under the feet of the cattle. I had much better views of one of the Red-backed Shrikes this afternoon. Alerted by a short 'cherr' call, not unlike an angry Wren, I found what is probably my first Moltoni's Warbler. Years ago, I would probably have called this a subalpine warbler but there is clearly a difference in both call and colouration. I am familiar with the Western Subalpine Warbler which I see in the Algarve, but this bird is not 'orangey' on the chest but a darkish salmon pink colour. A good find, really pleased with the fact that I was unsure of the call and located this lovely warbler. Equally good things were to come, as I saw four Turtle Doves leave the ground and fly up into nearby trees. I settled down on the riverbank and hoped they would return to the ground soon. There was a mix of conifers and straggly eucalyptus trees which I began to scan for a perched dove. I found a Jay low down, which had been keeping quiet. I then searched higher in the trees and had an amazing surprise! A beautiful male Golden Oriole which hadn't called once, all the time I was there. Upstream from Five Arches bridge. Passing Hooded Crows. These are the commonest corvid on Corsica, but Ravens are being seen frequently too.
Well, we have taken advantage of easyJets' kind offer to fly us to Corsica for £25-00 and, allowing for an interrogation by Manchester airport's security over a minute amount of lens cleaning fluid, we landed happily on Corsica mid-morning yesterday. Unfortunately, the weather is not brilliant at the moment with thick cloud covering the island and heavy showers at times. Hopefully this is going to start clearing tomorrow. Within a short distance of the airport, I was encouraged by the sight of my first Bee-eaters for this year. This morning, my first trip was to the Forest of Bonifato which lies behind Calvi airport and into the foothills of the mountains. This is a very pleasant walk in stunning mountain scenery and I was really 'testing the water' to see what I might encounter in mid May. It is ten years since I visited Corsica frequently and thankfully, it was just as I remembered. The track leading off from the car park. It was raining quite heavily on arriving and whilst sitting it out in the car, the last thing I expected to see was a Northern Wheatear, sheltering under a nearby car. Also in the surrounding bushes were several Spotted Flycatchers. In Corsica, the spotted fly is virtually 'spotless' and a very plain looking bird. Along the track, there wasn't a great deal of bird song. A couple of Blackcaps were heard as was a Sardinian Warbler. Blue and Coal Tit were seen, along with a Goldcrest. I turned my attention to the sky, not expecting anything to be flying this morning with low cloud cover. A couple of Ravens honked as they crossed the valley and I then noticed a large raptor at height, coming from the left side mountains. I identified it straightaway as a Golden Eagle, it flapped its wings occasionally between soaring with wings held upwards. The light was abysmal and only on the computer can I see the lack of any significant white on the wings, leading me to think this is an adult bird. The gold head can just be seen on this picture! With few birds showing, a temperature of only 8C in the rain, I decided to abandon the forests for another day and head back towards the coast in the direction of Galeria. Before Galeria, a fast flowing river passes under the 'five arches' bridge and in this area, a good number of hirundines were gathering. Feeding along the river were some Crag Martins which gave superb views as they passed low over the water. Occasionally the white undertail spots could be seen. The Crag Martins were accompanied by several Swallows and a single House Martin. Higher up, a small flock of Common Swifts passed over and I had a very brief 'rear' view of just one Alpine Swift. Crag Martins feeding here. Alpine Swift - honest! A meadow at the side of five arches bridge had a large flock of Goldfinches and Serins feeding in the grass. A few trees held more Spotted Flycatchers and I was really pleased to see two Red-backed Shrikes, a bird I haven't seen for a couple of years. Also in this meadow were two Spotless Starling, a Stonechat, a Woodlark and a distant Yellow Wagtail of some sub-species, with a very dark head. Half way home - looking towards the bay of Calvi.
Also seen today were my first two Turtle Doves, in a long, long time! At this time of year, the first few hours of morning provide an excellent time to really listen to the sounds filling the air and carry out your identification, just by listening. Everyone can get a bit rusty and sometimes it may be last Spring, or the year before, since you last heard a particular call or song. A few days ago, I was at Tophill Low and the woods there were alive with the song of Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, Wrens, Goldcrests and the drumming of woodpeckers. This morning, I walked a favourite part of the upper reaches of the Humber with an ulterior motive for being near reedbeds!! Once on the riverbank, a group of Shelduck flew noisily overhead. I reached an area of reeds and soon heard the 'ping-ping' call of Bearded Tits. It's good to find these birds on the North bank of the Humber as they don't seem to reach much further North than here at all. I came across three pairs today, including a fine male feeding close to the water. Sedge Warblers were plentiful here, some in song flight but none were sitting up on the reeds, perhaps it wasn't warm enough yet! A Common Whitethroat was the next call I heard and found it on a near hawthorn. The very top of the same hawthorn was a favourite perch for this male Reed Bunting to sing its song . There was more and more birdsong coming from a small group of hawthorns and this Wren shattered any silence, with its extraordinarily loud song. A Reed Warbler was next to show, not in the reedbed I was watching but again, back in the hawthorns. ........showing really well out in the open. The ulterior motive I mentioned earlier, suddenly came to light - or 'sound' to be more precise. The 'reeling' of a Grasshopper Warbler, not too far away. In the miles of reedbeds along the Humber, I enjoy the challenge of locating this scarce migrant. If nothing else, it is a very cheap test of one's hearing abilities and, since the Grasshopper Warbler rotates its head as it sings, the bird may not be quite where you think it is! This Grasshopper Warbler turned out not to be in the reeds at all, but was skulking in dense bramble and nettles. It wasn't in full song yet, as many warblers aren't when they first arrive. Just brief 'reels' but enough to keep me on track. I was really pleased to find this warbler and, having dug-out this skulker I turned my attention to one of three Cetti's Warblers calling in various parts of the surrounding area - nothing skulks quite like a Cetti's!! I almost managed a photo of it too!! My final find in what was becoming a 'warbler' morning, was this beautiful Lesser Whitethroat. Given away by its short rattling call, it perched for a considerable time giving excellent views. Several Marsh Harriers were passing through and I was overflown by this Common Buzzard.
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