Warren / Eat Soar (11:15-15:30 ).
80 Swallows, 20 House Martins, 58 Yellow Wagtails, 2 White Wagtails, Whinchat, 3 Redstarts, 32 Wheatears, 2 Blackcaps, 5 Whitethroats, 14 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and around 800 Linnets in area ( c 500 around airfield ). All the Redstarts and Flycatchers were around the yurt field or Donkey paddock adjacent to the track just up from the cafe.
I have been reading The Life Of Buzzards by Peter Dare ( brilliant book, a lot based on research around Postbridge ). It has shown me how little I knew about them including their wide variety of prey. Coincidentally today I saw a Buzzard in the pepperpot field along with around 30 Herring Gulls. Looking the other way I heard a commotion and on looking back was amazed that a Buzzard had just wiped out an adult Herring Gull. It was not the one i'd just seen so i'm guessing this one had flown in low, put the gulls up and Goodnight Vienna for Jonathon Livingston. The buzzard went to ground over a ridge but in the next 15 minutes several corvids arrived and a Peregrine paid some interest but I saw the Buzzard still with prey a couple times. In Peters book there is a reference to a Buzzard opportunistically taking a Herring Gull
↧