I've entitled 9 of these 'bird blogs' but maybe I should include an earlier blog when I mentioned that I would be writing such blogs, consequently it would make a much nicer 'round ten' to finish the series with? Not to say I won't write more about birds seen locally... anyway, my ninth, or tenth, bird blog. I have continued to use Gooders' book The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide* as my structural tool, and as a source of information about birds I have seen whilst on my regular travels/exercise, walking across Hastings Country Park, and along Barley Lane, since the first Covid-19 lockdown began way back in March last year. Also, I was very much influenced by the sound of birdsong during my walks last Spring and early Summer, notably in the larger sand quarry at Fairlight (YouTube), which helped me to keep sane, as well as fit.
This blog is called, among other things, Birds of Prey, but it is really me winding up by including other birds I have seen but not mentioned in these blogs so far, which is just the odd pheasant or two (above) and birds of prey, or at least the birds I recognized and was aware of seeing. I have seen other birds of course, for example a stork (blog), but that has been away from the country park, so not really relevant to this series, but still an acknowledgement that writing about birds will not stop here, particularly now my 'birder' instincts have been reawakened by the lockdowns. I have to admit that seeing, or more often hearing Pheasants, was a bit of a surprise at first, but quite common over the months. The pheasant is one of the most common, and certainly most widespread, ground-dwelling gamebirds around the country, inhabiting woods, hedgerows and fields, and feeds on shoots, seeds and berries. Quite often I've seen one in a field, as in the photograph above, not a great image, but it flew away from me after crossing my path. Indeed, I've even had one just hopping/flying away from me down the same path without escaping to the side, not the brightest of creatures!
I only spotted a Buzzard once during last year's earlier walks/exercise, which is a bit surprising as they have recently displaced the Kestrel as being the most observed and widespread of the raptor species, having multiplied in numbers by at least 7 times since the 1960s (Sussex Wildlife Trust). They had been in danger beforehand as their population diminished because of food shortages during the myxomatosis outbreak among rabbits, and because of the use of pesticides like DDT that caused eggshell thinning in contaminated birds, thus preventing attempts to reproduce.
Numbers had been decimated in earlier times too, as gamekeepers shot them, sadly, as they erroneously believed they would attack landowners' gamebirds. Indeed, the Buzzard mostly feeds on small mammals and is happy to take advantage scavenging roadkill too, and may even eat earthworms in colder months, which may have been what the Buzzard I saw in a field by Barley Lane was eating before taking off.
Also, early on during my walks I had seen a Kestrel, or maybe a Hobby as I have since been told that a Hobby has been spotted in the area near to Fairlight and above Warren Glen, but I tend to think it was the much more common Kestrel sitting on a post, before flying off at my approach, but you never know. 😉 Anyway, the photograph above, which I think is a Kestrel, was taken reasonably recently by a mate when we met up for a socially distanced meeting, as allowed outdoors. Not a clear image, but I believe it is a Kestrel hovering above Warren Glen, a raptor that feeds on small mammals and birds.
So, that's it for today and the final 'chapter' of this series of bird observations. Many thanks for reading these blogs, and keep safe folks!
Photograph of the Buzzard reproduced with many thanks to the RSPB and Hazmik.
* John Gooders The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide.
John Gooders used to live in East Sussex before he died 10 years ago, sadly, and had previously been Chair of Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.
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