Kestrel

Sunday and an early morning walk around Cisbury and the surrounding area provided a mixed bag of birding experiences. There were a lot of birds about particularly along the Monarchs Way. There were probably a dozen Wheatears and Whinchats along the fences together with Yellowhammers, Meadow Pipits, and I think Corn Buntings. I say I think because I had made the mistake of doing the walk the wrong way round and was walking into the sun at the key point where all the birds were. This meant trying to pick out birds from there silhouettes and destroyed any chance of getting pictures.

I did settle down at one point with the intention of waiting for the birds to come to me. Then the inevitable, the unmistakable sound of a mobile phone conversation and a couple appeared with seven dogs. They did put them on leads as they went past me but twenty yards further on they were running loose and flushing everything from the adjacent fields. I sat and listened to the telephone conversation for the next fifteen minutes until they had disappeared over the next hill half a mile away. The birds did return slowly but I could not get anywhere near them.

 I had a pleasant walk, saw a few distant Redstarts, but it was starting to look as though I would be heading home without any pictures for the blog. I tried the Dew Pond but there were no Dragonflies and my last hope was the Rifle Butts on the south side of Cisbury Ring.

There were birds there feeding on the seed heads but they were mostly Willchafs. Its always exiting to see the first few in the spring but by this time of year having to identify the differences between the two is starting to become tedious. This one was interesting though as it has black legs and yellow feet.

I'd call this one a Chiffchaff

I also managed a picture of a moth and a Migrant Hawker Dragonfly.

Lesser Treble-bar Moth

Migrant Hawker

Just when I had given up hope of getting a decent picture for the blog I was rescued by this female Kestrel, probably a juvenile, perched in a tree on the edge of the ring.