18th April - Fishlake Meadows, Hampshire

There was some unfinished business at Fishlake Meadows, I wanted to get some photographs of Garden Warbler, Cuckoo was satisfied at Pig Bush yesterday but always nice to get one there and I was hoping that maybe the Reed Warblers might give themselves up

I arrived early and walked aground to the viewpoint again.  It was a beautiful morning, lovely sunshine and hardly any wind.  With the morning light the main lake looked lovely, but there was little to see, I had hoped for a Common Tern.

I walked back tot he canal path and quickly came across a singing Garden Warbler.  This was the place there had been one last year, but like the one earlier in the week it kept well out of sight.

There were though three Chiffchaffs and one of the Chiffchaffs was not happy with the others and was shaking the wings in threat.

From the first view point there was a very distant Cuckoo calling from the very top of one of the dead trees.  Not as close as the bird at Pig Bush this week but nice to see one here.

I walked along the canal path a little further, there were plenty of Sedge Warbler singing in the reeds and the loud bursts of Cetti's Warblers from the scrub.  I found a Sedge Warbler singing from a bush.

I walked down the centre path and at the screens there were at least four Redd Warbler singing in the reeds, but not once did they show enough for the photograph.  Coming back there were male Orange Tips about, this one nectaring on the flowers of the Cumphrey.

Plenty of Blackcaps singing now and one or two Whitethroats in the scrub created by the fallen branches.

It was warming up and the butterflies were to be seen flying up and down the canal path.  A Green-veined White settled on the newly emerged leaves of the bramble.

At the spot where the Garden Warbler was singing earlier in the week it was singing once more.  I found it at the back of the bushes so it was a case of watching and waiting for it to appear and eventually it did. 

It was a case of focusing through the branches.

Garden Warblers are secretive birds with a non conspicuous plumage, brown or olive grey there are no real features, it just appears plain and at times large eyed with a stout bill.

It moved along the branch and showed in a gap.

Having finally managed to get some shots of the Garden Warbler I moved on leaving it to disappear back into the scrub.

A Whitethroat was singing in a small Alder tree.

I came across the other Garden Warbler and decided to see if I could improve on the earlier efforts.  As I stood waiting the Garden Warbler moved about at one point I thought I had it, but it turned out to be a female Blackcap.

Finally the Garden Warbler showed at first at the back of the tree and it was a case of focusing through the branches once again.

Then it came out into the open and the task was complete some great shots.

From the view point there were Swallows, Sand Martins, House Martins and a couple of Swifts once more.  Red Kite and Buzzard were soaring over the distant trees, while a Marsh Harrier was hunting around the far meadow.

I walked around to the roadside viewpoint where there was a single Common Tern flying around the dead trees, a first for the year.

Back on the canal path there was a Cetti's Warbler singing from the bush next to me.

Having achieved one and a half of the hopes this morning, the Garden Warbler and distant Cuckoo and with the temperature quite pleasant with the sunshine I decided to move on with a search for butterflies at Magdalen Hill

17th April - Pig Bush, New Forest, Hampshire

A little warmer this morning and despite the early overcast conditions there was a forecast for sunny spells to break through around midday.  As I walked through the wood from the car park there was a Redstart singing, but I couldn't find it it.  Coming out of the wood there was a male Redstart on the ground that flew to a large oak tree.  At least I had seen the Redstart, but I wanted some photographs.

I crossed the stream and headed toward the main wood.  The skies were brightening up.

I stopped at the Nightjar trees, the leaves were just emerging.  I used the thermal just in case and picked out a warm spot underneath one of the main branches.  It turned out to be a Treecreeper and it was searching the bark.

There was definitely something of interest here and it was hammering away at something.

It then appeared with a grub of some sorts and took it away, probably to a nest.

I could hear Blackcap and Chiffchaff singing and just before I came out of the wood I heard a Redstart singing.  It took some time but I finally found it singing at the top of the tree on a dead bough.

it seems that when the Redstarts arrive the males sing high in the trees, later in spring they can be seen lower down as they forage.

Coming out of the wood there was a Willow Warbler singing from a hawthorn bush.

Aside from the leg colour, the primary projection and the song, Willow Warblers when they arrive look a lot fresher than the Chiffchaff, with a lemon yellow wash on the breast.

I walked along the path close to the next inclosure.  This was wooded last year but over winter has been cleared.

Where there were trees more Redstart sang from the branches.  I walked on to the scrubby area just before the path that leads across the railway bridge.  This has always been the best place I have found to see Redstart.  However once again I could hear them but they were high in the trees.

Wrens were singing, the males make several nests for the female to choose and at this time of year they will sing to declare territory and to attract the females to inspect their nests.

At one point there were two male Redstarts on the ground, but all were still distant.  Then I flushed one close to me, but luckily it settled on a branch and I was able to get a better view.

For me the Redstart is one of those birds you have to see when they arrive.  The males are probably one of the most spectacular birds, the black and red contrasting so well and the shimmering tail adding to the spectacle.

It was mixing up song and calls, the song a mixture of whistles and notes while the call is very similar to that of a Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler but louder and more harsh.

These won't be the last photographs I take of the Redstart this year, but it is a good start.

A Cuckoo had been calling all the time I had been there, and I decided to walk to the railway bridge to see if I could get a view of the Cuckoo.  I could hear it, but couldn't see it.  As I walked back a Marsh Tit sand close to the path.

I tried another path and eventually saw the Cuckoo in flight and watched where it went and walked back to the area where I had seen the Redstarts.  I picked it up as it flew around above me.

It kept flying back and forth, giving some great views.

Eventually it settled on one of the dead trees close by.

The classic Cuckoo pose with the wings drooped and the tail raised.

It then left the post and flew around calling giving me some of the best views of Cuckoo I have had and the opportunity to photograph them since Colin the Cuckoo, this one though didn't need mealworms!

The last one my favourite.

I left the Cuckoo and headed back towards the car park.  A Willow Warbler sang from the bushes once more and going through the wood there were more Redstarts singing and a very elusive Garden Warbler that wouldn't come into the open.

Coming out of the wood I flushed a Woodlark from the path, it flew up and then settled on the ground close by.  Always nice to see it showed well for me.

As I walked towards the car park, looking back the day was now looking lovely, the forecast proven to be correct.