Elusive deer

Despite extensive searches for signs of deer in the neighbourhood of my new home, no slots, or droppings were discovered. Then, this morning, driving down the lane, an adult Muntjac deer caually crossed the road in front of me. They are known to be secretive creatures, but I have xclearly been looking in the wrong places.

Fledgling Green Woodpecker

Out walking the dog today, he went ahead and all of a sudden there came the panicked cries of something he had disturbed. Running up I soon saw that he was shepherding a large fledgling bird. It was a green woodpecker and it was making a huge amount of noise for such a relatively small bird. Catching it up, it became clear that it had some damage to the top of its head. This appeared to be largely superficial, so I placed it into a horse paddock, hopefully out of harm's way, where it rapidly sought cover. Hopefully its parents will have found it and continued to supply it with food until it is able to fly properly.

Strange Sounds

For the last few days I have been puzzled by some strange sounds emanating from the garden of a house round the corner. Then I saw a pair of little owls. Although the examples of their calls on the internet are not similar, I am convinced that it is these birds that are making all the noise. I suspect that they have young either in the nest or just out of the nest and are warning of predators, of which there are several possible suspects in the area.
Great to see these little birds so close to home.

Red Kite again.

I was amazed today to see a red kite soaring on thermals above the garden in my new home (Trottiscliffe, Kent). It was quite low down when first sighted but within just two minutes it was a mere speck in the sky. This second sighting suggests that there may be a resident population in the county.
Years ago when living in mid Wales I would see up to fifteen kites during the winter months when it was just about the only place in the UK where they could be seen, I never expected to see one over my home in Kent.

Mobbed Buzzard

Just returned from walking the dog along the North Downs. A buzzard flew along the edge of the downs with a creature (tail dangling) in its talons. It was quickly mobbed by several crows and then a sea gull. Although the buzzards are regularly mobbed, these birds appeared to be intent on getting the buzzard to release its captive. The buzzard appeared to take little notice of the chasing birds. This seems to confirm that the buzzards are nesting just a couple of miles to the east of here.
Another encounter with a fledgling: A tiny bird flew within six inches of my face. I am pretty sure it was a very young chiffchaff.

Skylarks in the Wind

I have recently moved house and the fields opposite are full of skylarks. For the first time in my life, I am living in a house where I can wake to sound of skylarks singing; a dream come true.
Previously I have tended to come across these birds in the welsh mountains where they tend to sing almost continuously at this time of year. Here I am noticing that they sing the most in the early morning, no doubt re-establishing their territories, and that they tend not to sing when it is windy. It is windy most of the time in the Black Mountains of Wales and so I can only presume that the welsh skylarks have adapted their behaviour to cope with the wind.

Weasel

A weasel carrying what looked like a vole ran across the lane in front of me. The vole looked to be almost as big as the weasel. I presume it has a nest with young and disappeared into the thick hedge.

Rescued Fledgling Goldcrest

Yesterday morning going into the garden, I saw what I thought to be Dylan (the dog) playing with a large butterfly. He was mouthing and pawing at the poor creature which was clearly trying to escape his attentions. I ran down and shouted at him to leave it alone when I suddenly realised that it was a fledgling bird. The tiny bird appeared to be uninjured and, with the dog safely housed indoors, I placed it in the deeper part of one of the hedging leylandii. A parent bird appeared, calling to its young and I could then positively identify the young bird as a goldcrest.
Sadly, once the breeding season is complete, these trees are due to be felled. I shall look to retain one or two to afford future breeding sites for the goldcrests, but they shade the garden too much to remain.

Just back from Malawi

Ten days in Malawi has convinced me that this must be the best bird watching destination in the world. Not only are there an amazing variety of birds to be seen (some of them endemic) but it is so relatively easy to get up close to many of the birds. In addition, whilst watching the birds, I saw a herd of forty five elephants and too many hippo to count. The light was fantastic so have amassed hundreds of photos some of which should prove to be very good.