The Urban Birder

Sightings

Cormorant

At least six were sighted on the 1st with smaller numbers during the rest of the month.

Grey Heron

The usual scenario was played with the odd bird being seen. Our pesky crows mobbed one bird as it flew over on the 1st.

Greylag

Now quite a regular visitor, a pair headed east on the 1st and two went south on the 4th with another couple sighted on the 31st.

Canada Goose

Small numbers were noted during the month.

Shelduck

After last month's continuation of The Legend of the Shelduck, we decided to rename this duck the ‘Nightingale's Mate’ due to their predilection for turning up just before we discover that we had Nightingales on site. However, that spooky association was shattered this month when every time they were seen resulted in zero Nightingales, despite much searching!

A pair headed west on the 4th, our second record for the year. The association with that famous songster took a further hit after three were watched heading west on the 18th to the sound of no serenading Nightingale.

Mallard

A couple of birds were seen on the 1st and three on the 4th.

Red Kite

Our second ever example was seen circling The Scrubs by a couple of visiting birders on the 28th, just over a year after our first. It was seen in the early afternoon drifting northwest being mobbed by a crow.

Common Buzzard

Our groundsmen witnessed a thermalling bird high over the sports pitches on the 31st. Classically, crows were mobbing it.

Sparrowhawk

Our local nesting pair made occasional forays into our airspace during the month. Interestingly, on the 4th, a female was watched flying west low through Braybrook Wood and into the playground of the school. It seemed to be heading at full pelt into a brick wall as it chased after a sparrow. All the while she employed a strange undulating flight pattern like an enormous finch. The hunt was unsuccessful and she landed on a wire fence appearing to momentarily pump her tail before taking off with a crow in hot pursuit.

Kestrel

This scarcely seen falcon was sporadically recorded in May with single birds seen on the 2nd. On the 4th, a female landed in a tall tree situated in Central Copse before chasing after an unseen passerine along Lester's Embankment. It or another was seen on the 31st.

Hobby

A fine adult was watched for around 10 minutes cruising at around 100ft above the grassland and Braybrook Wood at 0630 on the 4th. It finally drifted off southeast. It was our first spring record, our first May bird since 2009 and our earliest since 2006 when one appeared on the 2nd.

Quail

Perhaps the sensational discovery of the year was the singing bird heard and eventually seen in the grassland on the early morning of the 17th.

Seasoned Scrubber Neville Smith's account of his find is as follows: “Whilst making my way up to Chats Paddock I heard a strange repeated scolding sound coming from the long grass. It appeared to be a few yards in front of me, low down in the long grass. At first I almost dismissed it as toy as I was not sure if it was even a bird. It sounded like someone was playing a recording of a fast heartbeat. A bewildering 30 odd seconds past before it suddenly hit me: ‘wet-me-lips, wet-me-lips, wet-me-lips’. Then panic set in as I realised that it could only be a singing QUAIL!!”

It was heard singing for the remainder of the day. An amazing record made even more fantastic when a bird was heard singing from the grassland on the 31st a full two weeks after the discovery of our first bird. Was it the same bird or were two involved?

Black-headed Gull

At least six headed north on the 1st.

Herring Gull

Around 20 were noted on the 1st.

Lesser Black-back

The usual low numbers were seen in May.

Stock Dove

The usual few local birds were to be seen during the month. A larger than usual flock of 16 was seen feeding on the football pitches on the 16th and 15 were noted on the 19th.

Woodpigeon

At least 60 were knocking about on most days.

Collared Dove

A single bird was noted on the 1st.

Swift

Our first bird of the year swung over Martin Bell's Wood on the 1st at 05:20. This bird was one of our latest spring records as they are normally noticed during the last week of April.

We began to see these harbingers of summer in earnest from then on with a peak of around 60 on the 6th. A pair was watched copulating in mid-air over the grassland on the 11th.

Rose-ringed Parakeet

The usual swarms were noted with at least 1,000 birds leaving their Central Copse roost every morning.

Green Woodpecker

A single bird was seen on the 6th.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Our usual couple of pairs were glimpsed during the month.

Sand Martin

The lone bird that crossed the grassland on the 3rd was our first record for this spring. It was also our first spring bird since 2009.

Swallow

Spring migration continued with at least 65 recorded during the month. The biggest day total was the 26 that passed through on the 1st. In total we have recorded at least 95 birds since April, which is nearly double the total for the same period in 2010 but only half as many as 2009.

Meadow Pipit

At least 10 birds were noted on the 1st although we suspect that only three pairs may have bred this year.

Pied Wagtail

Our first Pied Wagtail for the month was reported on the 11th when a male was identified. A couple more were seen during the course of the month and two juveniles were on the short grass by the hospital on the 31st.