I am grateful to Peter and Margaret for most of the sightings this month, and some of them have been very special. On the track to Littlecote, they saw two kestrels becoming very agitated and repeatedly diving down close to the ground – it turned out that they were ‘buzzing‘ a fox that was stalking one of their fledglings! A few days later in the same area some 20 red kites were chasing a tractor, and they were again being ‘buzzed’ by one of the kestrels. Very territorial indeed, and pretty brave when you consider the size of a red kite!
There have been further sightings of yellow wagtails in the village and on Spring Hill, together with spotted flycatchers, and blackcaps with recently fledged chicks. Several corn buntings have also been seen up on the hill, which is unusual for us.
In the garden, our wrens duly fledged, but stayed around for a few days, returning each evening to sleep in the nest box. One young blackbird has stayed nearby, and this morning its dark brown speckled breast looked stunning in the sunshine.
On the sunny evenings our Ramsbury swifts have been screaming through the skies, while over the hill in Froxfield, I spotted a flock of over thirty on a sunny afternoon.
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