Friday 19th July

On the road bright and early this morning to go and conduct another vigil in a Sussex field trying to find out what the hell the Honey Buzzards are playing at this year. In a spot where we've regularly had at least five, and possibly seven summering birds for the last few years, this year is looking rubbish. There would appear to be just one pair this year, and I personally have yet to see the male, although Andrew and Ian saw him two weeks ago. We had a nice close view of the female for about five minutes, last Saturday, and that was it...not much to show for six hours of looking, but that is quite often the norm. This morning I again had the female for about a minute at 08.55 and that was it. So still no real idea of what's going on.
          A flock of twenty or so Wood Pigeons bursting out of a wood drew my attention and I watched a juv female Goshawk powering through them, but not making any attempt to grab one. I watched a young male do the same thing last week. It climbed to a great height and then stooped, just like a Peregrine, straight through a group of four or five Pigeons, again without making a grab for any of them. It looked as if they were practising or even playing. Whereas this is a lovely idea, I guess the truth is slightly more sobering, in that as they've probably not developed their ambushing skills to any great extent, they are hungry and getting desperate to kill. Starvation is always a very real risk to young raptors, and probably accounts for a lot of the mortality rate in their first year.
         All in all not a bad morning watching, but the best was a female Purple Emperor flying round, investigating a big Sallow behind me between 11.00 and 11.30. The first I 've seen here.

1 Honey Buzzard fem.
1 Goshawk  juv. fem.
4 Common Buzzard
2 Red Kite
1 Hobby
1 Kestrel
6 Crossbills    being away from my local patch, they coulda been Common, coulda been Parrot, who the f**k knows?
1 Purple Emperor fem.

This is the first list I've done on a blog, should I write 'ex.' after each one?
Does anyone know what 'ex' bloody means?

75% of the Long-winged Maggot Muncher watch group last Saturday.

Six hours, 30 degree heat, no shade, one five minute view.

You can see from Ian's face that the excitement was all too much!

 

       I think he was just bored at this point.