May Update: a Blossom Bonanza
To coin a football phrase, May was a month of two halves: the ongoing cold damp conditions in the first two weeks eventually gave way to dryer, warmer weather, which was much better for birding. The blossom on the ‘May Tree’ Hawthorns didn’t reach its peak until the end of the month, but was more spectacular than in previous years, covering the scrub over Longslade and along the old railway line. The arrival of a few more summer migrants also helped to boost our mood – and the weekly species count, peaking at 56 on the 27 th - although numbers continued to be lower than in 2022. Last year’s May record of 66 species was never in danger of being broken The yearly list now stands at 81 with a total patch count of 115. Full lists and counts can be found on eBird at: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095 - as mentioned on previous posts, some species are suppressed by this site which explains the slight discrepancy in the reported numbers. Raptors provided many...