Seeing as I had finished school early, I decided to head down to Woolmer with lunch and see if anything was about. Immediately visible on the lake were a few Tufted Ducks, Little Grebes, Greylag Geese, and the usual Canada Geese. A Kestrel was hovering overhead, and the Grey Heron flew out over the lake- I've seen it here quite often recently. A male Stonechat was perching on a branch, and all the normal Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Robins, Blackbirds and Magpies were making themselves busy.
After heading down the track to the cottage, I decided to scan over the pond again and add a few species to my list for the day(in my notebook). A few Black-headed Gulls were all that I could see on the pond, and as I was scribbling them down in my notebook, some movement out the corner of my eye caught my attention. Quite distantly over the forest behind the pond, a raptor was zipping about, and as soon as I found it in my binoculars, it was easily identifiable as my first Hobby of spring, and a patch tick I'm very happy about. Although very distant, I still managed to get a few photos, which displayed the wing shape well enough.
After a few minutes, it went out of view, and I went the rest of the way down the track to the cottage, in hopes of relocating it and getting some better shots. It soon became visible, over the flat field behind the cottage, and was putting on an almighty display of speed and agility. Its rapid speed made pictures difficult, but I managed to get a few better ones.
As the bird flew off strongly north, below the line of trees that make up Woolmer Forest, I decided to go into the cottage area to have lunch. There was a Song Thrush, a few Sand Martins, and I heard the Garden Warbler, but nothing else of note was seen. As I walked round to the north side of the cottage, the Hobby flew back overhead and started circling very close. Annoyingly, it was nearly directly into the sun, but I still managed to get my best shots of it yet.
A few dazzling minutes later, and it had flown off again. Forgetting all about lunch, I headed over to the trees behind the cottage to see if I could get Nuthatch on my daylist for the site. A
Buzzard was on its usual perch, and a few
Goldfinches were on the fence.
Although no Nuthatch were to be found in the woods, two Whitethroats were a good day tick, and only my second this spring. I thought it might be worth scanning over the field for the recently reported Wheatear, and despite the awful heat haze, it popped up a bit of a distance away, and I managed to get pretty good views through my binos, but the same could not be said for my camera! The haze was just too strong and the bird too far away, so I decided to wait until later and see if it would be a bit closer. A Mistle Thrush was also on the field, much closer and photographable. Another tick for the day, my list was now up to 32.
Remembering that I still hadn't had any lunch, I finally sat down and had some food, kept company by some Black-headed Gulls and the Mistle Thrush.
After finishing, I decided to head round the east side of the pond to see if anything would surface around the forest. As I was scanning the pine trees over Range 1, in hope of some Crossbill, I heard the familiar Cuckoo calling not too far away. It sounded as though it was in the ranges, though, and as the flags were up, sadly, I couldn't go in to search for it. Continuing towards the A3 bridge over to Longmoor, I picked up a few more species including Willow Warbler, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Nuthatch and Tree Pipit, pushing my list up to 47. I was really hoping I could get to 50 today, and it seemed likely. Nothing of note was about, so I headed back to the cottage, with a cute Blue Tit showing well on the way.
After stopping off to photograph the Blue Tit, I set off again to get back to the cottage. I stopped again rather quickly, though, as I could hear the familiar sound of a Garden Warbler singing, and as the area seemed pretty open, I thought there might be a chance for photos. Whilst waiting for the warbler to show, a Dunnock popped out of a bush, another new species for the day, putting my list on 48. The Garden Warbler finally popped up, allowing for a photo before flying off.
A Long-tailed Tit flew past, putting my list up to 49 now. Determined to get to 50, I finally make it to the cottage in search of the final species I need. A search around the water behind the cottage produces nothing other than a few Chiffchaff and Goldfinch. Deciding to see if the Wheatear was closer, I went back to the field and quickly located it again, a bit closer, but again the heat haze destroyed any chance of photos. Another check in the woods produced nothing other than the Whitethroat and a few Blackbirds. Knowing I have to get back home soon, I have one last look back over the field, and then start biking towards the pond. With nothing else showing up, I finally decide to call it a day and head home to make dinner, with a final day total at Woolmer of 49.
On the way home, a Firecrest was calling just south of Greatham.
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