Blue Skies Over Aldbourne

Visited family in Aldbourne this afternoon and sat out in the garden in the warm sun. With Don's house being on the hill on Oxford Street you can see all the way back towards Swindon affording great views of any raptors about.

We weren't disappointed with 2 Red Kites and 2 Buzzards passing overhead at altitude. Normally you can see the Kites low over the house but these and the Buzzards were a good 1000ft up. Other high fliers were 12 Swifts which were in a type group, and almost certainly courting/mating. Below them were a dozen or so Swallows and House Martins.

Red Kite

Swift

Dunnock

Male Blackbird

Birds Recorded: 1 Mallard in flight, 2 Red Kite, 2 Buzzard, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, 2 Collared Dove, 12 Swift, 6 House Martin, 5 Swallow, 2 Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch.

I nearly forgot, yesterday one of the resident Carrion Crows took exception to a Wood Pigeon in the garden and chased it straight into the kitchen window. Fortunately Woody wasn't hurt, but he certainly left an impression on the window with the dust that came off his feathers on impact.

An impression of a Wood Pigeon.

Birds hitting windows is a very common occurrence and perhaps I need to invest in some hawk silhouettes which can help in normal situations. More Here on this Topic