30/05/20

Started the day with a walk around Hamstreet Woods.  For the first half hour the birds were very quiet with only the occasional Wren or Blackcap calling.  As I got to the far side of the wood I heard 3 separate Nightingales calling.  So far this year there have been 7 places in the woods where I have heard them singing and they seem to be reducing each year.

Walking along one of the bridleways a Buzzard flew out of a tree and away from me down the track, this happened 3 more times before I branched off on a different trail.  Of summer migrants I saw/heard

1 Cuckoo
3 Swift
4 Chiffchaff
5 Blackcap
3 Nightingale

After some breakfast I accompanied my youngest son down to the canal whilst he did some fishing.  I happily sat and watched any birds/wildlife and snapped a few pictures.  Birds of note was 2 House Martins, 2 Cuckoo and a Kestrel, which ironically is the first Kestrel I have seen in Hamstreet this year.  There were also a lot Barn Swallows with one keep flying along the canal and they looked really blue with the sun shining on them, unfortunately despite trying I struggled to get a good picture that did them justice.

There were also a lot of damselfly around and below a Blue Tailed Damselfly

We also had a visit from a Mute Swan that was unsure what it was we were doing, and eventually moved away