Today a bit better weather wise after 2 dayus of monsoon rains - cloudy but mostly dry apart from a few spots of rain. We set off on the almond walkway from the airport end and walked down the track towards the river which was swollen with rainwater and a dirty brown colour after all the rain of recent days.
First thing we spotted, unusually here, was a lesser spotted woodpecker perching on a tree next to the river, the firt time we have spotted a woodpecker here. The river was buzzing with swallows and sandmartins despite the swollen waters. Curiously however there were no signs of any swifts as we walked along the river towards Cammo although we saw a few reed buntings jumping about the riverside and also spotted the duck family at the same area and it seemed the young were down to 5 inm number so 1 less than the last time. At the area of the river wwe have named 'kingfisher corner' because of numerous sightings in the past we stopped for a while on the riverbank but no kingfishers this time but we did see 2 grey wagtails bobbing up and down and a couple of wrens. we sat here for a while just listening to the sounds of the birds, the breeze and the fast flowing water. A lovely spot.
On the way back along the riverside path we at last saw some swifts flying about and too many sandmartins and swallows to count! Great to see the swifts again as they are one of my favourite birds and its such a shame they are only here for 3 or so months of the year - wish they were here for a lot longer! We decided to go under the railway bridge next to the airport and take shelter under a willow tree next to the riverbank as the wind had got up and there was a few spots of rain. The river was still buzzing with swifts, swallows and martins but the highlight was seeing a kingfisher whizzing past and down the river! Lovely to see as we have not spottted one for a while and did not expect to see one as the water was very dark brown colour which presumably means they cant fish?
Making our way back to the car we spotted a siskin flying along the edge of one of the farm fields and that was a nice way to round off an enjoyable walk on a breezy afternoon.
At night just after 9pm we went back to a local nature reserve and settled down at a badger sett in expectation of some badger spotting. We were sat down for 5 minutes when a 'pack' of 6 badgers all together came into view! so nice to see as you usually spot them in 1's and 2's. This group were going in and out of the sett and sniffing and shuffling about while oblivious to our presence. Cags (partner) had a slightly better vantage point than me and she saw a tawny owl flying silently through the woods just above the sett! Amazing stuff but I was slightly jealous as I did not see it from where I was sitting!
Anway another good badger expedition and owl was the icing on the cake for this time.
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