Migrate with us!

Monday 31st May, 8:00 am to 10:00 am, Migrant Discovery Walk - nothing to do with patrolling the nation's borders, just a Bank Holiday Monday saunter through the wood and up the hill to renew acquaintance with tiny travellers back from incredible journeyings. A little party of early breakfasters, all agog for the benefit of Assistant Warden Stuart's expertise.

With the village swifts darting between the rooftops, and some swallows in the sky, and the usual mob of siskins on the shop feeders, we set off down the hill past the tearooms. A spotted flycatcher stopped us in our tracks almost immediately - he was living up to his name (catching only spotted flies, no doubt) on one side of the road, and she was eyeing us from the most cryptic of nests in the ivy of a tree opposite, while a blackcap's fluty tones came from the undergrowth beneath. A spotty young robin fell out of a hedge with a surprised look as we passed on.

Down the hill a bit further, we paused till the wood warbler we could hear came into view among the oak leaves, so we could all clearly see how it both resembles and differs from the chiffchaff that was singing a little further back. Lots of willow warblers everywhere, too. Our song thrushes seemed to be in reasonably good shape, and the blackbirds and robins were fairly abundant, but you could tell in the woods how badly the wrens and goldcrests have fared in this hard winter. The absence of the tiny wren's enormous song was very noticeable. Chaffinches were everywhere.

Under the river footbridge, we dipped out on both dippers and grey wagtails, sadly, having to make do with a mallard, but then we moved into the old wood, where the pied flycatchers put on an excellent show at a handy nestbox. A grey wagtail did show up later at the dam, where they are nesting. A great spotted woodpecker appeared for a second or two. Nuthatch didn't make it on to my list, but I have a feeling we did see one, didn't we?

Moving up on to the hill overlooking the dam, we came to an area cleared some years ago, now growing up strongly again and very popular with warblers. A garden warbler sang from dense cover, giving us the chance to compare it with the blackcap we heard earlier. It then even graciously showed itself, only briefly - but long enough for some smugness among those who had correctly identified the song! Whitethroats were singing in the tops of the little birch trees, and a couple of redpolls flew over.

It says a lot, in these days of crashing populations, that a singing greenfinch a little further on stood out as worth listening to as we moved along the hillside, from the broadleaf into the conifer woodland. More siskins, some buzzards in the sky, tree pipit and redstart close together in another cleared area, and the morning's first cuckoo briefly singing. Wood pigeon to add to the list, and the cry of a goshawk from somewhere deep in the trees.

As we walked back along the road to the RSPB shop, a couple hailed us from the Nestbox Trail. They had spotted a tawny owl leaving a box. Not one for our morning's list, but it's nice to know the Nestbox Trail isn't just a visual aid for school parties!