Christine's walking & birds blog

Two cuckoos had been calling unseen, and I'd been enjoying listening to them as I looked (in vain) for a grasshopper warbler. Then all hell broke loose as the cuckoos came dashing down the hill scrapping as they flew. They would land on the pole and wires or a nearby tree and then start again, only flying off when I tried to get closer.


That was two days ago, and early this morning there was no sign of any cuckoos - and again, no sign of a grasshopper warbler. The weather at the moment is dry and sunny - even hot when you can get out of the wind. But the wind is formidably strong - and small birds are hunkering down and maybe not singing. Except for willow warblers, which don't necessarily find a prominent song-post but seem to sing in a rather absent-minded manner as they move through the trees foraging.

And the whinchat I'd hoped for was out in the open - if at a distance.


He flew closer and sang - but from the heather rather than a fence post.


Naturally, the moment I switched the camera to video, he stopped singing. But I decided to leave him in peace; he must have been aware of me, even though I was sitting in the car. A nice way to start the day.