Ups and Downs

Today was the hottest day of the year so far with the temperature reaching 22 degrees C in the afternoon.  Not surprising then that the garden was positively awash with butterflies - 7 species were seen, including 4 that were new for the year: Large White, Small White, Holly Blue and Orange Tip.  Brimstone, Comma and Peacock made up the numbers.

A Chiffchaff was seen in the morning and it or another could be heard singing from the adjacent wood.  A male Blackcap was also singing quite vociferously from next door's cherry tree - when I saw a female moving through the same tree, I could see why.

With the warm air and blue skies, raptors were very much in evidence.  Red Kites were well into double figures and Common Buzzards were approaching them.  An example of a typical overhead view today:

A male Sparrowhawk was in full display, his white undertail coverts puffed out looking almost Goshawk-like.  He was obviously paired to a female, but a third bird also appeared in the air simultaneously, though did not cause any friction.  Unfortunately, no migrant raptor or Crane/Stork appeared in the mix!

Later in the afternoon, my daughter found a dead female Blackcap on the back patio that had presumably succumbed after flying into a window.  The yellow pollen stains on the feathers around the base of the bill probably came from cherry blossom.  I wondered whether it was the female I had seen earlier - such a shame.

Bramblings are still regular visitors to the feeders, with at least 2 males and 2 females seen today.  Numbers are obviously dropping away from their peak and I also suspect that many are transient passage birds rather than regular visitors.