Singing In The Rain

The forecast was for it to be a bit mixed last night with some cloud, rain, clear periods and most importantly of all a southerly wind. With thoughts of migrants in mind I headed to the cemetery after breakfast. I had to sit in my car for a while as the rain was quite heavy. It's not that I'm bothered about getting wet, it's that when the rain is really heavy birds aren't very active. If the rain is light, then they will feed away, and of course the rain does drop migrants in.

So sat in my car just to prove me wrong I could hear a Chiffchaff singing away and the contact calls of Goldcrests! The rain eased and I set off to do my usual circuit. I had a single Goldcrest first of all and then two together further round. I clocked the singing Chiffchaff and then had a further three working their way through the trees. On the other side of the cemetery I had another singing Chiffie taking my total to five.

 Chiffchaff

At last a decent view of a Blackcap, compared with my calling only bird yesterday, and this was a female feeding and flitting through the tree tops. She kept shaking herself to remove excess rain from her feathers, but was obviously on a migration mission and she was actively feeding.

A Turdus moving rapidly from tree to tree and silhouetted against the sky lead me a merry dance as it wasn't calling. Anyway, I eventually nailed it down and it was a Redwing that then rapidly left to the east.

I joined Ian in the coastal park where five Siskins were amongst 40 Goldfinches, and an immature male Sparrowhawk flushed a few Woodpigeons as it 'burst' out of the pines. Ian had heard a Chiffie and a Goldcrest, but it was certainly quieter than the cemetery.