Although Common Swifts were first seen at Carsington Water on Monday I saw my first today flying directly over the garden in Darley Dale. Traditionally I would look out for swifts from the first week of May and often it would be into the second week before I saw one here but, in common with many other species, migrants are arriving earlier now.
I also added Garden Warbler and Turtle Dove to my April list today.
 |
| Common Swift |
I'm taking part in the National Turtle Dove survey this year organised by the RSPB and BTO so I was particular pleased to hear a bird calling today and will be visiting several sites where they have occurred in the past in the coming weeks. I'd also be very interested to hear of any other local records this year.
I've previously mentioned the plight of the Turtle Dove and their rapid decline in Europe, so I was saddened to hear in the last few days that the Italian Government has sanctioned further shooting of these beautiful birds this autumn. With 500,000 licensed hunters allowed to shoot 15 birds each the total birds killed could run in to the millions.
Here's a photo I took in Croatia in spring 2019.
 |
| Turtle Dove in Croatia |
No comments:
Post a Comment