It was a beautiful, crisp late winter day. The sun cut through the cold air, yet there was a hard frost on the ground. I woke up at 6am and by 7:20 we had arrived at the heath, the marron heather still encrusted in frost crystals. By this time the temperature had risen considerably and was forecast to reach a high of 15 o C by midday - very much a day of two seasons.
I had two species I really wanted to see: Woodlark and Dartford Warbler, both true heathland specialists that are shy and rare. Finding the Woodlarks was relatively straightforward: As soon as I had got out of the car, I was hit by the Woodlark's sweet, flutey song and after a brief search I located one delivering its song from the top of a small pine. It was not the only one, there were at least 3 others displaying and parachuting, and I also gained a special insight into their lives when I observed a mini 'lek', two males jostling with each other on a patch of sandy path and another (presumably a female) watching with interest to see who the victor would be.
A Woodlark. Here you can see the main features that distinguish it from a Skylark or a Tree Pipit: The short stubby tail, broad cream supercilium and a hazel brown 'cheek patch' below the eye
I was serenaded by the song of the Woodlarks the whole of the walk, but there were many other birds present. Two Goldcrests chased each other round the gorse, a Dunnock sat proud on the top of a tall sprig to sing his rapid song and two Chiffchaffs were skulking around in the heather. Lesser Redpolls, their red caps making them look like they had been dipped in strawberry jam, trilled their jangly song from amongst the silver birches and groups of brick red male Crossbills noisily moved through the tops of the Scots Pines. A surprise was a single Corn Bunting that sang briefly before moving on.
Dunnock - The lighting and gorse behind it give the image a yellow-gold background which I really like.
It was almost 9am now when we finished our circuit of the heath. The birdsong had subsided significantly now, with only a single Woodlark still singing, and the tranquility of the frosty morning had been broken as the reserve was now filling up with families, photographers and walkers. We were beginning to think about leaving when a burst of scratchy song caught my attention. I soon located the warbler, which was typically skulking and mouse like as it moved through the understorey of the heather and gorse searching for small spiders. It moved further away and I thought my chance was gone. However, I heard another burst of song shortly afterwards. I turned around and a pristine male Dartford Warbler, with his red wine breast and slaty grey back, was delivering his song from a tall sprig of gorse whilst he surveyed his heathland home. This was the best view of this rare bird I have ever had, and to watch it looking in good condition, singing on a late winter morning, was such a privilege - some people go months looking for this bird and only get a few glimpses.
The Dartford Warbler is our only truly resident warbler, and one of our rarest too. It is solely an insectivore so suffers great mortality during cold winters - for example during the record breaking winter of 1962/63, only 10 pairs survived. It also has specific requirements for heathland with even distribution of heather to look for food and gorse in which to nest, which makes having a healthy population of them here even more special.
Dartford Warbler, uttering a few notes of his scratchy song
Our walk was not over yet however and a pair of Bullfinches flew over our head, whistling to each other. The male briefly alighted in a small Rowan but I got no good photos. Then a chunkier, olive green bird caught my attention. It looked like a Greenfinch but was just more powerful looking and larger. It soon returned and it stayed still long enough for me to identify it as a female Common Crossbill. It was apparent it was nest building, collecting moss and other things and consistently flying back into a small conifer. A lovely moment watching a bird which is normally only seen high up in the treetops, and an excellent end to our walk on a fantastic bit of heathland - I can't wait till the Redstarts, Tree Pipits and Cuckoos return in April!
Female Common Crossbill collecting nesting material
Dartford Warbler looking alert
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