Buzzard Antics

The usual area to see buzzards locally is along the slopes of the South Downs. However, today there was one in the middle of a field that holds several horses down by the local wood. It was particularly noticeable owing to its very white front, but as these birds can be seen in a number of colour guises, this was nothing out of the ordinary. What was rather more strange was the behaviour of this particular bird.
On a number of occasions I have had the good fortune to observe vultures in various parts of the world, and their tendency to fly in to a kill, and then run and skip along the ground is one of the well known characteristics of this species. I had not previously seen this sort of behaviour in our own buzzard.
From a standing position, the bird suddenly ran to one side and then, with its beak, snatched something from the ground. A few minutes later the bird carried out exactly the same procedure but in another direction. It was clearly catching some minuscule prey. Given that this was in February, it is unlikely that these were grasshoppers, or emerging may bugs. Neither did they appear to be worms, or I think I would have spotted them through my binoculars.
Another natural mystery to ponder upon.

It IS Spring!

The increasing signs of Spring leave me concerned that we may have a start to Winter and all this new growth and blossom will be killed off. Robins are nest building in my garden. I have observed bearded reedlings carrying nesting materials. Primroses abound, celandines and dandelions are in flower and the blackthorn trees are adorned with white sprays of blossom. The skylarks sing above the rape fields and the chaffinches are now in full voice. Yet with March yet to arrive, frosts and even snow are not impossibilities.

Grey Wagtail

This was a surprising bird to see this morning. It was not down by the stream as might be expected but was finding insects to feed upon on a piece of land that had been under flood water the day before. This is possibly the most inappropriately named European bird. My attention was first drawn to a flash of black and white, and although this was only a glance, something about the shape made me immediately aware that it was not simply another chaffinch. The bird had flown up into a blackthorn and as it returned to the ground to feed, I was able to observe it in its full splendour of vivid yellow underparts and soft grey upper parts.
Later in the day I heard the skylark singing once more over the rape fields below the North Downs, whilst wherever I go I seem hardly to be without the soft whistle of the bullfinch, a bird that seems to be more plentiful than has been the case for some years.

Spring?

On this glorious morning with not a cloud in the sky, I heard a chaffinch singing. This for me is the clarion call for Spring.
It was not the full song of the bird, for I have noticed in past years that it takes a few weeks for the cock birds to get fully into their song. As the breeding season approaches and the need to reinforce their territorial rights increases, so the song improves. In many countries on the continent of Europe they hold singing competitions with the chaffinch and this species is of particularly well suited as they will sing whenever they hear the song of a rival.
I walked within a few yards of a kestrel yesterday. It had its back to me whilst sat on a fence post engrossed in what it could hear in the grass tussocks below. It moved off gracefully and perched in a tree, probably waiting for me to pass by.
The new lake (the result of a landslip near a local exhausted sand quarry) is now full, and the stream, whose route was interrupted is once more flowing along its full course.

Singing Skylark

With a brief break today in the weather, a skylark announced its presence over the fields at the foot of the North Downs. A dandelion in flower on my allotment also suggested that spring has arrived, though this signifies little in a year when summer flowers bloom in January.
The air was full of birds today. It seemed that almost wherever I went I could hear the piping of bullfinches. Thought I heard the rasping call of a yellow hammer but turned out to be a chaffinch.

Splendour in Small Things

As the rain continues to fall, we can rejoice in the brief interludes when the sun shines. It is a joy to see the hazel catkins light up the landscape backlit by a low winter sun. More subtle, but just as full of beauty are the alder catkins whose purpling of the tree give it a character you would not expect. One specimen I know of is set against a background of the young yellow wands of a willow and the contrast is breathtaking.
Further news of blackbirds breeding early: an egg shell discovered on a footpath, clearly one from which a youngster has emerged.
I have asparagus spears appearing on my allotment, a good two months early.

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Thanks to help from Google I am once more able to post a blog. A lot to catch up on.