Mission accomplished!

Saturday 15th April 2023.

A pair of Stone-curlews in the ploughed area of the field. Such amazing birds and thankfully, we eventually got to view them.

Today was going to be a trip up to the north of the County to see if we can see any of the Stone-curlews that we saw last year at the same site. For the sake of protecting the birds, I will not disclose the exact site where we went today, but I will say it was a good hour away from Andy’s house when we left. The weather was looking good today as well, with no sign of rain on the horizon, though it was reasonably cool when we arrived at our destination.

Above, an Early Grey with the Dark Sword-grass in my moth box this morning. Below, the Dark Sword-grass was still present by the moth box later in the afternoon.

Beforehand, I put my moth box on again overnight and though there weren't many moths, I was still rewarded with my first Dark Sword-grass of the year. This was quite significant as I have never had a Spring record of this species (normally from September onwards) and seeing other moth enthusiasts have also recorded them around the UK, I suppose I could count myself lucky in getting one. Other moths present included two Early Grey and 2 Common Plume.

Andy's moth box produced a Hebrew Character, Early Grey and Common Quaker.

Andy also had his moth box on overnight and recorded just the three moths: Early Grey, Common Quaker and a nice pristine Hebrew Character. He also had a Chiffchaff in his garden that showed very well near the back of the house. I could hear a Blackcap singing somewhere in the distance, which bode well for a good movement of migrants overnight.

One of a pair of Long-tailed Tits seen along the hedgerow.

On the way to the north of the County, we encountered good numbers of both Common Buzzard and Red Kite and I even spotted a few Yellowhammers from the side of the road as my Sat Nav took us through the countryside. Parking up at our destination, we had to negotiate a very muddy track to get to the site where we saw the Stone-curlews last year and on arrival, a couple of birders told us they were successful in seeing the birds this morning, but only flight views and told us to go a different direction to view the birds. Though we could hear some in the distance, we were faced with fields full of Rape and realised there was no way we could see the birds on the ground with the plants at least two to three feet high!

My first Dog Violet of the year growing at Woolmer Pond. 

Though disappointing at first, we did get to see our first ‘year-tick’, a Corn Bunting. Possibly three birds were flying around though mostly distant. The sun was rather strong and therefore heat-haze was going to be a problem in getting a decent photo and so the photos I did take were really not up to scratch to put on my blog. The muddy track produced a few nice sightings that included a small flock of Long-tailed Tits, a flock of around 6 Linnets and a Swallow belted through low over the fields too. Both Red Kites and Common Buzzards were seen soaring in the distance and a Kestrel was also seen hovering over one of the fields. It was pleasing to see so many Skylarks for they were literally everywhere over the fields and even a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen flying over one of the fields and landed in trees by the hedgerow.

A female Sphaerophoria species and a male Sphaerophoria scripta Hoverflies enjoying nectaring on a Dandelion. 

Realising that we were most certainly not going to see the Stone-curlews at this particular location, we turned around and made our way to where we saw them last year. Facing a large field with a ploughed area that looked most suitable for the birds, we stood there for around half an hour, taking in some superb nature during our stay. There was another area that was ploughed in the distance and this is where we encountered our first Grey Partridges of the year, when looking through the scope, I picked out two birds keeping low to the ground, picking off seeds or insects from the ground. I quickly got Andy onto the birds and now we had our second ‘year-tick’ of the day. Enjoying a lot of Skylarks showing well all around us, especially in the ploughed area, I still kept an eye on our surroundings and behind us, in one of the fields, I found three Foxes together virtually sunning themselves in the warm sunshine. Earlier, Andy had spotted a Roe Deer in exactly the same place and a Hare was seen in one of the neighbouring fields beside the main track.

HorseTails growing abundantly by Woolmer Pond.

We could still hear Stone-curlews calling way in the distance behind us and after 40 minutes or so, I decided to walk back and hopefully try our luck elsewhere. Seconds later, the call of a Stone-curlew was heard directly behind us and so I plonked my scope down again and searched the ploughed area more thoroughly. Then, bingo; I found two birds fairly close to one another and realising that one of them could possibly be on eggs, we gave it around ten minutes and made our way back to the car. Our mission was accomplished and with this superb bird now on our year list, we decided to leave the area and leave the birds in peace. As these birds are a Schedule 1 species, its best to leave them alone or simply watch from a distance.

A Willow Warbler with nesting material within the Cottage garden at Woolmer Pond.

Apparently, a male Pied Flycatcher had been found by Woolmer Pond a few days ago and we heard a report that the bird was still present there this morning. Both Redstart and Tree Pipit were seen this week at this site and so I asked Andy if he fancied going there on the way back? Well, that was a no brainer! So, Woolmer Pond for Pied Flycatcher etc was next.

This was a singing male Willow Warbler also in the Cottage garden.

Parking up in the usual car park near Greatham Village, we made our way through the wooded area and then strolled up to the Cottage where we thought the bird was. We met Mark Francis’s father near the Cottage who told us that he had no sign of the bird within the Cottage gardens; but we had to try and look for it anyway. Though there was no sign of the bird, we did get to see our first Willow Warblers of the year, which showed very well. Other birds in the garden included several Chiffchaffs, a pair of Chaffinches and both Coal and at least two Long-tailed Tits. A pair of Woodlarks were heard to the north and then I picked them up flying high overhead and then disappearing from view.

A Brimstone butterfly on a Dandelion by Woolmer Pond.

Resting on the gate overlooking the Pond, Mark Francis’s father then waved us over and we were sure he was onto the Pied Flycatcher. Sure enough, this gorgeous male bird was perched on the perimeter fence, but as soon as I lifted my camera to get a photo of the bird, it flew down and out of view. Bugger! We then had to wait around 15 minutes for another view of the bird as I saw it flitting about in a canopy of a Silver Birch tree briefly, but that was the last sighting of the bird we all had. Both Andy Friend and Pete Appleton were seen walking towards us and after a nice chat, we all went our separate ways as Andy and myself headed back to the car. 

The Pond itself held very few birds of note, though there was one drake Tufted Duck and a Little Grebe seen. No Hirundines were over the Pond, though there were both House and Sand Martins seen here this morning. A few Red Kites and Common Buzzards soared overhead, but nothing else of note. Five more ‘year-ticks’ were added to our respected year lists today of which I am now on 161 species for the year.