The wildflowers on the bend of the river Frome came with a soundtrack of birdsong that took some dissecting: wren, song thrush, reed warbler, Cetti’s warbler with the odd honk of a goose.
Unlike the reed warbler, our Cetti’s warblers don’t migrate to warmer climes over winter which is curious because they came here originally from the Mediterranean in the 1970s. Despite literally shouting its whereabouts, a Cetti’s warbler can be close to impossible to pinpoint. It often sounds really close yet can be on the other side of the lake.
They don’t sit still to sing either so photography takes weeks not hours to achieve. Bird song will be a focus of our Wild Wednesday walks in May when the birds are most vocal, competing for territory. We’ve heard our first cuckoo already but some of our summer visitors are stilling returning to breed. Meanwhile some of our residents are in full swing with moorhen chicks hiding in the bank-side vegetation and greylag goslings out in clear view on the lakes.
The female swan is still patiently sitting on the nest and will be for a couple more weeks while the male patrols the entire south lake keeping the Canada geese in order.
