A very quiet walk around the Cemetery.

Saturday 3rd August 2024

This young Carrion Crow was sporting an unexpected plumage in the north of the Cemetery.

The drive back from Devon today wasn’t too bad, with just a few silly idiots trying to meet God a lot earlier than anticipated! We got back around 1pm and after putting everything away, I took the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery. I had heard that a Caspian Tern had been found distantly off Hill Head, but I was too tired to get back into the car and take a drive that would most likely end in a ‘no show’. I have only ever seen one Caspian Tern and that was many years ago in Kent, during my ‘twitching’ days.

Above, Common Ragwort was abundant throughout and below, Bittersweet attracted the attention of only one of two Bumblebee's seen today.

A slow walk around the Cemetery produced very little bird life, though the Green Woodpecker called a couple of times and a ‘black & white’ Carrion Crow, sporting an awful lot of white on the primaries and secondary feathers; seen around the northern end of the Cemetery walking on the grass. A Wren was heard singing a few times, but apart from a few Wood and Feral Pigeons, very little in the way of birds were noted.

Above, a Marsh Thistle growing independently within the Cemy.

When the birds are quiet, I will check out the other wildlife present and so the plants grabbed my attention. Bittersweet (a species I thought was Deadly Nightshade until corrected by fellow birder, Geoff), was growing abundantly in one particular area and the likes of Common Ragwort was all over the place! Scarlet Pimpernel, Ox-eye Daisy and Birds-foot Trefoil were also notable throughout the Cemetery. I was looking on Facebook earlier about the concerns of a Farmer who said ‘where have all the insects gone?’ It was noticeable in the Cemetery too as I found nothing nectaring on the Buddleia and I think I only actually saw two Bumblebees. It really is worrying what is going on in the insect world.