A Little Birding Magic.

On Friday I spent the best 3 hours birding I've had in ages, if only because I was at Barbondale at 7.30am on a beautiful sunny and calm morning, and had the place to myself for the entire visit, with just the brilliant ancient woodland, it's birds and their song for company....Magic.

What a difference a few days makes, compared to six birds seen on 2 May, five pairs of Pied Flycatcher were at Barbondale today. Also in my notes, 2 Redstart, one of which I watched being seen off by a male Pied Flycatcher, 2 Tree Pipit, 2 Dunnock, a Song Thrush, Willow Warblers were in ear shot the whole three hours, and a Garden Warbler was in full throttle just inside the plantation. A pair of Stonechat would have been one of the two pairs seen here 2 May.  Butterflies seen, a Green-veined White and 6 Orange Tip.

It was always the plan for me to then go to Newby Moor for the first visit here since 11 May 2017 when I found five Stonechat. On Friday I found none in a three hour search, 6 Meadow Pipit was a continuation of low counts I'm having on uplands this year, 2 Sedge Warbler, a Skylark, male Reed Bunting, 3 Linnet, a Buzzard, Kestrel, and just 17 Swallow in over three hours.  

By the River Wenning below Clapham Station, a singing male Blackcap, a Mistle Thrush, and 3 Orange Tip. Calling in at Bull Beck on the River Lune, primarily to see if I could find Little Ringed Plover on the shingle but did'nt, I did see a Common Sandpiper, and a good colony of uncounted Sand Martin.

Goosander at Conder Green.

I was pleased to see the report yesterday - LDBWS - of a female Goosander with four small ducklings at Conder Green, which seems to confirm a suspicion noted in my last post....'a female Goosander disappearing round the river bend out of sight upstream from the road bridge, try though I may, I was unable to find a viewpoint beyond the bend, it almost certainly had young with it'.

Swift at Kendal.

A decent number of at least 15 Swift were over central Kendal yesterday, seen from the River Kent where 5 Grey Wagtail and a drake Goosander also seen.

Thanks to Richard Pegler for his excellent Ring Ouzel header image.