Raven over the Cemetery.

Friday 2nd February 2024.

This Raven was my first here for a few years, but it didn't linger.

Another chilly start to the day and overcast first thing this morning too with a westerly wind to keep the temperature down. There were just 13 Brent Geese on Governor’s Green, Old Portsmouth, this morning (32 on there yesterday) and a total species count of 15 species today that included a fine male Sparrowhawk flying over the road and a Common Gull on the Green also.

Above, this Goldfinch was one of a few this morning seen here and below, the first Daffodils beginning to bloom.

Above, this Robin had something to sing about with Spring just around the corner. Below, the Jay finally gave itself up in the Cemy.

I took the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery after my first shift and easily the best find was a Raven flying low overhead, calling in doing so and quickly headed off southbound over the rooftops. A lot of the resident Carrion Crows were not happy with the Raven here as some flew up to chase the intruder off. The Great Spotted Woodpeckers were back in the Cemetery again, with the pair checking out the small trees by the Mausoleum and occasionally chasing each other through the branches. The Long-tailed Tit flock were also back again, with at least 13 birds seen flying away from me over the east side of the Cemetery. Away from the birds, the first Daffodils were on show on one of the graves and a few Crocuses poked out of the grass verges.

Above, a funeral will be taking place here today. Funerals are rare here as all the plots have been used up, so it would have been an existing plot for the burial to take place.

Above and below, the Great Spotted Woodpeckers were busy in search of food within the trees by the Mausoleum.

The birds seen in the Cemetery this morning included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie 
• Jay
• Raven
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• House Sparrow
• Starling
• Wren
• Robin
• Goldfinch
• Greenfinch
• Great Spotted Woodpecker (pair)
• Great Tit
• Blue Tit
• Long-tailed Tit (13)
• Blackbird
• Pied Wagtail

When I got home, I checked my back garden and noticed a good number of House Sparrows on the food put out for them and I found the male Blackcap among them again. However, everything got a rude awakening when a female Sparrowhawk crashed the party and nearly grabbed one of the Sparrows. She then perched up on the garden fence panel, though obscured by vegetation, then flew off north. Empty handed or not? On my second shift in Old Portsmouth this afternoon, the only addition to my day list there was the Jay, which was being chased by a Magpie through the Holm Oak trees. 

Very occasionally, you can hear a Jay 'sing', which is a mixture of crackles, warbles and whistles which I tried to capture here, though it was mostly drowned out by the other birds present here in the Cemetery.