Blackdown Bonanza!

 First "early one" of the year today with a 5.30 start, unsurprisingly Margie had too much health and safety work stuff to do, to come with me on a trip to Blackdown!! 😏 

I've been to Blackdown a few times before, it's a bit far for casual birding, but a Great Grey Shrike has been performing well for a few weeks and with Shrikes being a favourite of mine I could resist no longer and decided to go for it!!  

An uneventful trip saw me arrive around sunrise. kitted up in the car park and headed out onto the heath, small group of Linnets were the first birds spotted, followed by a pair of Stonechats. the first of many seen today! A Roe Deer watched me for a while!! 

Linnets

Female Stonechat 

Male Stonechat, nice to see plenty of Gorse in flower

Roe Deer

Pictures are a little noisy, I'm blaming the early morning light, annoyingly despite clear skies on the drive, it quickly clouded over on arrival and the sun didn't put in another appearance til I got back to the car😡😂 Getting the excuses in early you will note!!

Anyway I'm standing there looking over the Heathland, scouring distant stands of trees and gorse, looking for the grey blob, when in best pantomime tradition it was behind me, literally 30 feet behind me on top of a Pine Tree!! Where it sat for the next 20 minutes doing not much, though it called several times and had a bit of a sing, though it wasn't particular musical!! Now obviously a Shrike sat in a tree for 20 minutes is going to illicit several hundred pics from me, but I am going to show an amazing bit of self control and only put up a couple!!😂  

Great Grey Shrike

Strangely, when the bird was actually singing the Merlin App was coming up with Blackbird, in it's defence there were Blackbirds about, but when the bird just called it came up with Great Grey Shrike.

Now 20 mins in and I'm seriously concerned about memory card space and battery life but can't drag myself away, when I'm saved by a Woodlark, landing in a tree behind me and singing it's heart out!!

Another Stonechat

Marsh Tit saw several today

Woodlark

Singing full on!! Fabulous Stuff!!

When the Lark departed, with the light improving I turned back to the Shrike, it had gone!!! Buggeration!!!😂

I wandered around the heathland, looking for Dartford Warblers, which I failed to find!! I had brief glimpse of the Shrike but it had relocated a fair distance away, my disappointment was alleviated somewhat by the arrival of a small flock of Crossbills, one of which posed pretty well!

Common Crossbill

Great Grey Shrike at distance!

I continued with my wanderings, one of the best things about Blackdown are the spectacular views all around!!

 I carried on!

Stonechat

Crossbill

Lesser Redpolls, was just getting to grips with this flock when they were flushed by dogs😢

Think they need some bigger signs, in the 5hours I was there, I saw around 30 Dog Walkers, most with multiple dogs, not a single one was on a lead. Though to be fair most were well behaved but many were wandering in and out of the heather and gorse!! 

I decided to walk down the path into the valley, I've never done it before, mainly because it is quite steep and I dreaded walking back up!! However it was quite worthwhile, it turns into woodland and about half a mile into the  wood, I started to hear a distant flock, I tracked it down, Chaffinches loads of them, possibly hundreds, but right in the tree tops, managed to pick out a couple of Bramblings, in the gloom with the birds high in the trees pics  were at a premium. Other birds seen in this area, Jays, Redwings, Song Thrush, Robin, Blackbirds Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits, more Redpolls, more Marsh Tits, Blue and Great Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers and several Goldcrests. The noise was incredible, the Merlin App picked out most of them and weirdly added Cetti's Warbler!! 

Brambling

Coal Tits

Lesser Redpoll

Long-tailed Tit

I told you pics were at a premium, but an excellent experience! I left the gloom and headed back on to the Heathland the Shrike was still present, winding up the Crossbills, they really didn't like it being too near!

Crossbill

Shrike lurking in a nearby tree

Distant once again

Distant Beast

I decided to walk around to where the Shrike was lurking taking me  through the Gorse and Heather, where once again I failed to find  any Dartford Warblers😢 The Shrike showed ok again, there were now a few other birders present, they hadn't seen any Dartfords either😢.

Beast getting closer

These two walked past at a distance of 2ft and I didn't even flinch!! So Brave!!😎

GGS with one of two Beetles we saw it catch.

Another Woodlark dropped in for a singsong

Final Shrike view

Goldfinch

Final Stonechat

An excellent visit, Shrikes are awesome, Woodlarks and Crossbills are also pretty special  

Got back home to see the Tractor Boys lose in extra time, putting promotion back into the hands of the Mighty Whites!!! MOT!! Although the way this season is going I'm pretty sure it will change back around again next week!!!😏