An early morning start and what a beautiful sunrise it was 5:37am. However a Red Sky in the Morning, Shepherds Warning became very true, as by 8:00am the first spots of rain began to fall.
So where did I go today, well for the past week or so there have been several Quail seen and heard north of Eastleach Martin in Gloucestershire. As it isn't that far north of Lechlade I thought I'd go and have a look. Unfortunately it was down to guess work as to the exact location and having put in a rough guess into the Sat Nav, I was on my way.
Distant views of Westmill Wind Farm at Watchfield
At around 5:37am I arrived at the Sat Nav location, but as I was in a big dip in the road, I decided to drive on for a further 200 metres or so. And what a great decision that was, as further down the road with all the car windows open I could hear two Quail calling "Wet my lips", "Wet my Lips" at this location Here.
Quail country. On the right looking south the stone wall and then the wheat field.
Unfortunately there was no pull in, so I just parked up the car in the lane and put the hazard lights on. The lane here was very long and straight and any vehicle coming from either direction would see my car quite clearly. As I did so a Red Kite came low over my head and drifted off over the wheat field.
A Red Kite comes in low over my head......
......and then drifts away.......
...across the wheat field.
Having watched the Red Kite disappear it was up to the stone wall, to see if I could locate the Quail. I was amazed to find how close they were, and at the same time extremely difficult to see. In fact for the whole time I was there I had one fleeting glimpse as a bird made its way through the undergrowth between the wall and Wheat field. There were two birds calling and then a third bird to my left began singing. Absolutely brilliant and so close.
A male Quail singing close to the stone wall and then another bird calling from the wheat field.
After 15 minute or so I got back into the car and carried on up the road to turn around and do a slow drive back to see if there were any more birds. And having passed the 3 birds still calling on my right I then found two more birds further on in the corner of the same field next to the Byway Sign. At this location Here there was also a male singing.
The second location where there were two Quail with one male singing.
All in all a very exciting and interesting start to the day. One thing was noticeable ad that was the number of Red-legged Partridges, they were everywhere.
Birds Recorded: Red Kite, Buzzard, dozens of Red-Legged Partridge, 5 Quail, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Common Whitethroat, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Corn Bunting.
Having enjoyed listening to the Quail I decided to head off to Twitchers Gate. I've not been for awhile so it was going to be interesting to see what or wasn't about. On arrival at around 7:00am it seemed remarkably quiet. In fact on the CWP Pit 74 there were just a pair of Great Crested Grebes, 3 Mallard and 3 Cormorants. Very quiet indeed.
The bushes either side of Twitchers were quiet as well apart from the odd burst of song by a Cetti's Warbler. However a few birds did pass by and a family of Bullfinches stopped off briefly with one youngster tucking into unripe Elderberries.
A juvenile Bullfinch eating unripe Elderberries
One of the two juvenile Bullfinches seen here today
Hoverfly, Xanthogramma pedissequum. Apparently an uncommon species to find in the UK
Chironomus plumosus. A non-biting midge
Also about were a few Blackcaps, one singing Chiffchaff, Reed Warblers across on the scrape where 6 Oystercatchers took off, did a couple of circuits of the Reserve before coming back down onto the Scrape. Also on the Scrape were two Starlings, a female Blackbird busy collecting food, 2 Carrion Crows and 2 Lapwings.
Behind the Scrape were at least 3 Common Terns, with lots of Swifts, Swallows and Sand Martins feeding.
Birds Recorded: 2 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Cormorant, 2 Grey Heron, 3 Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, 2 Lapwing, 6 Oystercatcher, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, 5 Common Tern, Wood Pigeon, Swift, Green Woodpecker heard, Sand Martin, Swallow, Grey Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Reed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, 3 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 2 Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, 4 Bullfinch and Reed Bunting.
Also: Hoverfly, Xanthogramma pedissequum and a lots of Chironomus plumosus, midges