Ingram Valley was my destination today and I virtually had the valley to myself and the birds. Sunny, warm conditions meant many birds were very active feeding young on what looked like an abundance of insect prey. The growth of Bracken and other ground vegetation, however is still very retarded,with Bracken very thin and only 3ft high at most, leaving far less cover than usual for ground nesting birds. My main target was Whinchat ,which maintains a healthy population in the valley and I was easily able to find several nests containing small young. The worry is, predators will too.
16 singing males and 4 females were located in less than 2km of the valley. One male mimicking a Sedge Warbler song very well. Another male picked insects from rocks in the river, looking a little out of place. Using the car as a hide where I could , allowed close approach to several pairs and some nice photo opportunities.
Other birds in the valley included, 4 pairs of Reed Buntings, 9 Willow Warblers ,3 Chiffchaffs, Grey and Pied Wagtails, and many Linnets . 6 singing Yellowhammers and Redpoll and Siskin. A fledged Dipper was nice to see and Chaffinches were very common, some males practically eating out of my hand as I had lunch!
As a few Skylarks sang, a pair of Curlews noisily mobbed a passing Buzzard ,rising with it to quite an altidude. a second Buzzard seen and a female Kestrel.
On the way home , a visit to Chevington revealed 3 Little Gulls and a Black tailed Godwit and at Cresswell a pair of Stonechats in the dunes.
A S Jack
