Wiltshire Warrior Dragon

And rapidly becoming close to commonplace closer to home for you and me, Shadow. I have seen them a few times over the A36 near the Landford junction, over my house at Morgan's Vale, and drifting above the main road through Downton.

Mrs WWD and I heard a cuckoo today in the New Forest, when out walking the dog. This means that, this year, we can claim to have heard cuckoos in four consecutive months - from March to June. We heard one call on 31st March, unusually early and something I don't recall experiencing before; then nothing till the more normal mid-April; after that most days in late April and most of May, just getting less frequent in the last week or so.

In my experience, you often here the piping call of an oysercatcher before you see they are there; perhaps that was Mrs S's experience too. When I worked in the council planning department in Skipton, one of our admin staff - a very bonny lass - was one of five daughters (no sons!) of the then landlord and landlady of 'The White Lion'. When those five were all in their teens or early twenties, I bet there would have been a constant stream of young lads from down the dale making their way there for a drink or two! Good to know it is open still.

Sounds like a lovely walk, LTS; I am envious. Yes, oystercatchers are very much an upland Dales bird, as are redshanks and common sandpipers, as I recall from living variously at Long Preston and Embsay in the Yorkshire Dales and Ingleton in the lower reaches of Teesdale. By the way, I think JB Priestly once said that 'The George' at Hubberholme was his favourite pub!

I'm impressed how both teams lined up to mark the Pullman train passing by! ps it's behind you!

Here is an interesting webcam link. It is to cliffs at Sumburgh Head, close to the main airport in Shetland. With luck, you get good views of puffins, fulmars (the rather gull-looking pale grey and white birds, but which are actually related to albatrosses), and other seabirds. SOTEAG Cliff Cam | Shetland Webcams The website itslef, as you will see, has other cameras, both urban and rural. At this time of year, if you know or suspect from national weather forecasts that it has been a good day in Shetland, it is interesting to go on this website at about midnight or a bit later and be amazed how much light there still is.

Well, that's all very well, LTS, but I don't think you can do it. How do you allow for delays like the clearly overloaded chariot in front of you, slowing things down? And then, who wants to use one of those viae tutae, without a breakdown lane on the inside? Not to mention the Gaulish fishermen getting stroppy yet again with another blockade along the Anglicus Channel....

You probably know this already, Ullman, but another Bempton speciality isn't a seabird at all. Around the car park and visitor centre, you should look closely at the spuggies. House sparrows have a grey top to their head, but here there are also tree sparrows, which look almost identical, but have a lovely brown top to their heads, which makes it easy to distinguish them from their much commoner cousins.

I always think one of the most the amazing thing with wrens is their singing. You here this amazingly load, strong song and, when you realise it is a wren, you marvel at how such a small bird can sing with such volume of sound. Apparently, in 'old money', they weigh about a third of an ounce - incredible!

The southern cathedral peregrine news is that, at Winchester, three of the four eggs hatched. Winnie has given up sitting on the fourth, which now lies forlornly at the corner of the nesting tray. She and her mate, Chester, are both now leaving the nest to feed the ever growing trio of chicks. Meanwhile, at Salisbury, it is also the time in the breeding cycle where both parents must leave the nest in search of food; here, there are four chicks. Here are the webcam links: Peregrine Falcons : Live Web Cam Stream | Salisbury Cathedral The Peregrines Return in 2021 - Winchester Cathedral (winchester-cathedral.org.uk)

I see a report that there were no fewer than eight hobbies hawking over the water at Fishlake Meadows on the northern edge of Romsey in Hampshire earlier today (the town, incidentally, was 'Kingsmarkham' in the TV Inspector Wexford series) This must have been an incredible sight. I have been lucky enough to see a single hobby on a few occasions. For a split second, it is easy to think you are watching a swift, given the hobby's speed through the air, swept back wings and - by bird of prey standards - small size. Apparently, the inventor of the table soccer game, Subbuteo, wanted to call his new pastime 'Hobby', but wasn't allowed to register that as a trade mark. So, being a bit of an ornithological buff, he did the next best thing, and used the hobby's scientific Latin name - well part of it - falco subbuteo, which I think means 'falcon under the buzzard', which I take to be a size reference, but don't know for sure.

Apologies in advance to you all apart from Shadow; this is by definition a very New Forest and area oriented post! We had parked in Turf Hill car park, which is on the road from Downton and Redlynch that joins Roger Penny Way, but before it does so. we were on one of the numkerous paths a few hundred yards from there. However, I have to say, we haven't seen them since, and are at Turf Hill on most, if not all, days. It is currently a good spot for seeing stonechats (and if you get lucky, a Dartford warbler) and hearing larks and cuckoos. In previous years, Fritham Plain has been a great place to both hear and see cuckoos; on one visit, Mrs WWD and I counted five. Just be aware that The Royal Oak owners appear to be waiting for full opening of pubs being possible before they do so! Literally just down the road from Fritham is Eyeworth Pond, which is, of course, the old mill pond of a long demolished gunpowder mill. Small birds in the car park there can always be tempted by birdfood or even just bits of bread, so you get really close views of nuthatches and at least five types of titmouse - blue, great, longtailed, coal and willow (or the last could be marsh, they look so alike!) On the pond itself, there are often pairs of mandarin ducks in view, though at this time of year, look up in the trees for them; it's where they nest! A kingfisher or two very occasionally flash by. Back with peregrines, our two 'local' cathedral pairs - Winnie and Chester at Winchester, and the ones at Salisbury whose names I forget - have both hatched eggs now, with four at Salisbury and three at Winchester, where one egg is still unhatched and may not do so. So the adults will soon be busy coming and going all the time and should be easily spotted in the two cathedral closes, Shadow. Winnie and Chester have a good reputation for being very able and conscientious parents, most notably last year when they had five chicks and got them all to fledge, rather than give up on the last-born, which apparently can happen with a brood of this unusually large size.

They are on the way, VRG. About thirty seen at one spot in Hampshire about four hours ago. The last two or three days have seen the first reports of swifts in Hampshire this year, too. Just odd singles or pairs, but I think that is pretty early. I think of them as being early May arrivals, really, along with nightjars out on the heathland of the New Forest.

On behalf of all Catalans Dragons fans, thank you, bleep.

I'm very envious, Ullman - a lovely species that can cheer up even the dullest day. When Mrs WWD and I were seriously courting, we sometimes stayed at her family's clifftop chalet at Skipsea and there were often yellowhammers in the clifftop, scrubby vegetation, along with big numbers of linnets. Needless to say, the chalet was claimed by the avaricious North Sea many decades ago!

Mrs WWD and I got an excellent view of two peregrine falcons in the New Forest this afternoon, when we went there to walk the dog. It was a good reminder that not all members of this species are to be found hanging around churches and cathedrals!

I suppose this is the peregrine equivalent of our having an exotic takeaway - Chinese, Indian, that sort of thing.

A curious thing seems to have happened with partridges, Moose, over the last thirty to forty years. The native one, the grey partridge, has sadly experienced a huge decline in numbers. I have seen one figure of a European-wide decline of 94% over the last forty years. Meanwhile the red legged variety, has expanded its British range dramatically, including now your garden, Moose! I am not suggesting their is a correlation between the trends in the two species. I just don't know whether there is. On holiday in Norfolk about thirty years ago, we awoke one morning to hear the quiet of the countryside outside disturbed by an irregular tap-tap-tapping. I looked out and saw the explanation. A red legged partridge ambling passed my car had spotted a reflection of itself on my wheel hub and was aggressively attacking this 'intruder'!

I've noticed a sudden increase in butterfly numbers too, Padge. Down here, it has mostly been brimstones, but with one or two darker ones too.

Cue the Delius! Mrs WWD and I heard a cuckoo yesterday in the New Forest. Another dog walker had told us that he had heard it, so we were half listening out. It just called the once, but was quite unmistakable. This is ludicrously early. I cannot recall hearing one in March before. That said, the weather yesterday was very conducive for it during its trip north from Africa, with a warm following breeze. The wind is now making its way round to a northerly direction, so I hope it is OK.

Wow, that brings back the memories from my time as a very junior member of staff in the planning department at Northallerton County Hall, patiently preparing maps and other documents for committee meetings, public enquiries and the like!

Sure enough! A flock of over 70 sand martins at the water meadows on the northern edge of Romsey, with, apparently, one house martin amongst them!

Another osprey in Hampshire today, and the first couple of sand martin reports - just one or two birds in each. The wind has been gentle, warm and from the SSW down here today, so these reports are not surprising. I expect the first sighting of a flock of sand martins numbering in double figures is probably only a few days away now.

Thanks for the Wakefield webcam link, LTS. The resurgence in peregrine numbers in the last thirty or so years is really quite spectacular. I wonder if it would now be quicker to list the Anglican cathedrals that haven't got a nesting pair! Still on birds of prey, I see that one or more of the white-tailed sea eagles released on the Isle of Wight seems to be going through a spell of drifting across the Solent to suss out the lie of the land in Southampton and along the mainland coast. Our local ITV news programme the other day had some footage of one being mobbed by a red kite. The kite looked decidedly small!

There has been an osprey at Fishlake Meadows (an appealing journey stop-off point for obvious reasons!) in Romsey (Hampshire) today. I think this is the first sighting down here this year; no doubt, more will soon follow. Start looking out for them heading north up the country. In other bird of prey news around here, Winchester, Chichester and Salisbury cathedrals all have their peregrine pairs back, and I think all have laid at least one egg.