Soil Hill

  Despite being late April, it was a cold and frosty morning that greeted me when I woke up; a particularly uninspiring scene when setting off to look for summer migrants. Still, the wind was limited and the sky largely clear, so I ventured out as per and began my walk before settling down for work.

  As I descended Perseverance Road I could see a bird moving up the valley, clearly flashing black and white as it flapped. Presuming this would be one of the summering Lesser Black-backed Gulls, I received quite the shock when I raised my binoculars to see that the bird was in fact an Osprey.

  Because of my positioning, the bird was already level with me and would only be flying away from me at this point. Sadly I was flanked by two of the taller dry-stone walls in the area, so had to grab a few shots while I could before running down the road to a more open area where I would be able to continue watching the bird fly away. The unclean background made it difficult to get nice photos, but still a vast improvement on my three immediately preceding Soil Hill Ospreys.

  This is my fifth time seeing this species on Soil Hill, the fourth in the Spring. It was certainly a livener for the morning and got the adrenaline pumping. It is one of those birds that is always exciting to see, no matter how many times you have seen them before, especially in the UK context. 

-Osprey

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Osprey, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting, 

Soil Hill

  The cold weather throughout April has meant migration has been slow to say the least. I wandered up this afternoon without expecting much, and thought two late Common Gulls that flew over heading northeast would probably be the highlight of the walk.

  I decided to venture into the bottom marsh to see if I could work out what the Reed Buntings were up to, but they didn’t seem to be in there again, so I guess they are not breeding there this year. However, I was in for a complete shock on my exit

  It was only by pure chance that I happened to look down at my boots as I was leaving the marsh, to see the golden stripes of a Jack Snipe sat right next to me. This is the first time I have seen one sitting without the help of my thermal camera. Heaven only knows why this individual decided to remain sitting, since I was basically straddling it with my legs, but it very nearly got away with it.

  Fortunately it allowed me to back away without flushing, and I got some nice photos before walking away. Given that it is almost May, it was a bit of a shock to see this species still present but happy to be proven wrong. This is my joint latest spring individual at this site.   

-Jack Snipe

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Northern Wheatear, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Common Reed Bunting,