Natural Selection

It was eBird’s October Big Day today, on which all who use the platform are asked to make a special effort to record birds. I had to get to Southampton ahead of our transatlantic odyssey but wanted to take part.

Yesterday I had bought the ‘wrong kind of carrots’ for Simba the guinea pig so headed out for the real deal, with Jane encouraging me to do some birding whilst doing so. At Gynn Gardens Greenfinch and Grey Wagtail were more than adequate in the circumstances.

The drive down the country was the usual bittersweet experience, even before climate change considerations. A Barn Owl was dead on the hard shoulder of the M55 near Broughton. In a traffic jam near Oxford I couldn’t work out what the dead bird by the central reservation was initially. It turned out to be a first year Cormorant, then a lake came into view to the right and it became clear it had been hit descending towards the water.

That all said there were great opportunities to appreciate raptors. Three views of Kestrels included one pouncing on prey alongside the M6 Toll. A number of Buzzards showed well lumbering over the carriageways. But above all there were the expected but nevertheless thrilling views of Red Kites at a number of locations. A bird quartering a field whilst we waited for an accident to be cleared was particularly appreciated.

In Southampton we went for a wander from the hotel before dusk and ended up at Memorial Park overlooking the cruise terminal. We mainly watched the Norwegian Dawn cruise liner turning rounds and heading out on a one way cruise to Lisbon. We did however see several hundred Starling apparently preparing to roost, four gull species and a Chiffchaff. So enough encounters with birds on the Big Day to be content.

(Pictures of the town walls in Southampton and a bijou budgie boudoir follow as no wild bird pictures of any merit were taken)