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 of May’s birding highlights this year. A female Marsh Harrier (figure 1) was a regular visitor over the heath throughout the month – less welcome, perhaps for the ground nesting birds. A Red Kite and a Hobby  were sighted over Shirley Holms on 20^th and two Peregrines intermittently terrorized the pigeons over the allotments and football pitches. Our final patch walk of the month yielded the year's first Goshawk sighting – a male bird, gaining height on a thermal with prey, presumably planning an effortless glide to a nest in nearby woodland. An evening visit on 26^th May enabled the addition of Tawny Owl to the patch list, as well as confirming the return of good numbers of Nightjars which were churring and displaying at dusk across the heathland areas.

 

Figure 1: Female Marsh Harrier over the heath

As regards the summer migrants, at least 4 Cuckoos have continued to sing on the patch, particularly around Longslade and Hicheslea Bog; Whitethroats (figure 2) are evident again in the hawthorn scrub and there have been good numbers of Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff which seem to be doing well following the wet Spring. Unfortunately, no Garden Warbler has been heard on the patch so far, although we will remain vigilant in the usual areas during June. Spotted Flycatchers have also returned to Hincheslea woods, joining 4 singing male Restarts. There was no repeat of last year’s singing Wood Warbler, and we have not heard Reed Warbler in the reedbeds this year; however, a surprising addition to the list was a singing Sedge Warbler, which turned up rather randomly in the hedges behind the football pitches on 27^th May. House Martin numbers seem to have increased compared to last year, and the abundance of mud has no doubt helped with their nest building efforts around the Filly pub and St Dominic’s Priory.

Figure 2: Common Whitethroat in Hawthorn (photo credit: Mark Halligan)

Our heathland waders have had rather mixed fortunes this year. Sadly, our single Curlew nest was predated – most likely by crows – in the second week of the month, and although we had hoped they might make a second attempt, the pair now seem to have moved on. However, the Lapwings have fared better, with 3 good sized chicks looking like they were nearly ready to fledge at the time of writing. Snipe continue to be active in the reedbeds and marshy heathland areas, so hopefully their breeding efforts will also be rewarded.

A few other species seem also to be less abundent – notably Dartford Warblers, which appear to be absent from many of the areas in which we have identified territories in previous years. Even when the warmer weather and lighter winds returned later in the month, this heathland resident has been much harder to find than usual. The results of the county-wide survey, currently underway in Hampshire, will be interesting but I fear that their local population may have been hit badly by the cold weather in January and February. The year’s first Marsh Tit finally made an appearance on 13^th May, but this remains our only patch sighting so far, which is again unusual. Grey Wagtails have also proven to be more elusive than normal with no patch sightings so far this year, despite the abundance of puddles.

It looks like the dry weather is set to continue in June, which is often one of our best birding months on the patch; the long days will mean some early starts and hopefully some more exciting finds to report.