Early Dawn Chorus at Folly Farm

An early 3.30am start was in order today to meet a group at Folly Farm (www.follyfarm.org) at 4.45am to listen to the dawn chorus. A few robins were just beginning to sing as we set up, quickly followed by song thrushes, blackbirds and the night shift, with two male tawny owls still calling. It wasn't long before wrens, great tits and blue tits started up and later followed by blackcaps and chiffchaffs. It was a pretty cold morning but despite this a group of swallows flew fast and low over the fields and trees on their way north. As we made our way back to bacon butties, we were graced with a beautiful male barn owl quartering a field, followed by some views perched in an tree and then some hunting attempts. The barn owl was a first for most of the group and a great way to finish the walk at 6.30am.



Back in Bristol I was delighted to hear the contact calls of young robins outside my flat - I spotted a parent with food and a little searching later revealed one or two newly fledged chicks with stubby tails and big gapes!
Off to listen for nightingales a little later with friends.

Dawn Chorus 2 and Med Gull corpse!

Yesterday's dawn chorus went really well - 35 people turned up for 6.30am at Snuff Mills, on the river Frome and the birds sounded great. I arrived at 6am and the sounds were even more tremendous and also heard a few kingfishers. The walk was rewarding with plenty of wrens, robins, blackbirds and chiffchaffs singing away. The bonus bird was a dipper flying at canopy level upstream - they've been a bit scarce at this site in recent years so this was a good spot. Two crows were incubating eggs in nests, green woodpeckers laughed around us and jays accompanied us throughout.

Popped over to meet a friend in Bath for a cuppa before coming home via Chew Valley Lake (swallows over pool) and back home for a rest. Well, almost - I got a tip off that a Mediterranean Gull corpse was down by the Severn Estuary. I quickly nipped down, like a 10 year old all over again on an intrepid adventure to look for something exciting. I found the bird - well, the head and wings. It looked like it had been eaten by the local peregrines. A new species for my feather and skull collection. Amazing seeing the white wings, deep red beak and black head feathers (compare the black-headed gull's brown head feathers!). Finally, it was time for a snooze and a rest!

Tonight there is hazy sunshine across north-west Bristol and lots of lovely birdsong; robins and blackbirds singing away before day gives way to tonight! Time for dinner I reckon.