Saturday, September 08, 2012
Combe, West Berkshire
We parked on the chalky ridge, crossed the road and walked up to the gibbet. A willow tit was calling from bushes on Inkpen Hill, but we had only the briefest of glimpses. Long-tailed and blue tits, naturally, showed off in full view for some time!
Turning south, we encountered a bunch of chats close together; so we had lunch nearby. This is one of at least four wheatears which were were mostly flying up from stalks and bushes to catch insects in the air.
A whinchat was flycatching, like the wheatears, from perches. Two redstarts were calling and giving great views as they flew down from trees to pick insects off the ground. Trouble was, we were looking into the sun. This is an optimistic shot of the whinchat and one of the redstarts.
At least three willow tits were calling in the hedgerow but they were very wary, and again, I just caught glimpses as they flew from bush to bush. A chiffchaff was also present.
Descending into Combe from the woods I looked back thinking I'd heard a bicycle freewheeling down the hill, but there was nothing there. We walked on - and a little while later a bike did come whizzing down. This is the second time this has happened to me on this road, which dips tunnel-like between high banks and soaring beech trees. Greger thinks I hear the bike when it's further up the hill, before it appears (my hearing is better than his); but I maintain the hill isn't long enough for this. And at the top, beyond the sharp bend, the road is uphill so the cyclist can't be freewheeling at that point. However, there has to be a rational explanation so I suppose that's it.
On the flank of Walbury Hill we caught a flash of orange as another redstart flew between hawthorns; and it seemed from the calls that a second one was present. A willow tit was calling from the woodland. This made it at least five willow tits today, assuming of course that they were all different birds. Greger left me here to bird a bit longer while he had a coffee and a read of the paper in the car, turning round to snap me on his mobile just as I was taking a photo of him.
Up on the ridge distant bushes held a family of bullfinches, a whitethroat and this spotted flycatcher.
Closer to the car park a whinchat was hunting on the far side of the field.
A handful of meadow pipits and a yellowhammer were seen from the car park, and two ravens flew over calling. Between birds we walked quite fast and got some good hill training in, and of course the weather was brilliant; so altogether an enjoyable day.
// posted by Christine @ 1:38 PM 
