Of Birds & Cake the Blog of Paul: Windmill Walk

Decided on an earlyish walk from the Clayton Windmills to the Ditchling Beacon and back! Parked up about 6.15 on me own, Margie has back trouble! She can't get it off the mattress😂😂!! Great views from the car park, Skylarks singing and Goldfinch flitting around!!

Wolstonbury Hill

Hurstpierpoint Church

The first bit of the walk along the South Downs Way is mostly open fields and paddocks, Skylarks galore, mostly singing high in the sky, ( I've decided to stop trying to get pics of em flying for this year) several on fence posts but mostly distant. A few Rooks and some Gulls flying about, in the hedge along the path were more Goldfinch and a family of Whitethroats.

More good views along the path

Brighton and Beyond

Skulking Whitethroat

Rook

Goldfinch

Skylark

Skylark, most were distant or skulking on the path

But there is always one poser!! Hurrah😀

Reaching the reserve, the habitat changes to Grassland and Scrub, more variety here. Lots of Linnets, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, a couple of Yellowhammers, nice to see various juveniles as well!

Common Whitethroat

Linnet

One of a very noisy group of Whitethroats

Juvenile Blackcap

Meadow Pipit

Yellowhammer

Sadly couldn't get close as wasn't near the path

Meadow Pipit

Linnets, saw a lot of em today, hopefully they have are having a good year

Another Yellowhammer I couldn't get where I wanted it

Another Meadow Pipit lots about as well!

Leaving the reserve, heading towards Ditchling, more open grassland, lots of Orchids in this area.

Approaching the Beacon I could hear my favourite song, Corn Bunting, sat right out in the open as well!!! Whoop!! Don't worry I have been very restrained.

Corn Bunting

HPP Church from the Beacon

Ditchling Beacon Trig Point

Another Yellowhammer I couldn't get close too!

I crossed the road and had a look around the Dew Pond, not much about a couple of Linnets the best.

I turned round and headed back, the Corn Bunting was still on the bush where I'd left him!!

Love a Corny !!!!

Headed back on the reserve again I found a family of Kestrels, they were flying around a couple of trees down the slope, I contemplated walking down to get closer, but the walk back up could have killed me so I didn't!!😂

They seemed to be practicing flying swooping about then re-landing, I hung around in the hope, that they would land on an open branch, but they didn't😢 So hard was I concentrating that I missed a family group of 5 Ravens flying over, alerted by the Kronking but too late for pics, luckily one of them took pity on me and landed on an adjacent bush.

Raven

Raven on a bush

I may have be inattentive, but Daddy Kestrel wasn't and he didn't like it, launching a ferocious attack on the large Corvid, several times he buzzed the bush, I of course failed to capture much of the action, in my defence the Kestrel was quick and manoeuvrable and the background was terrible, I've got a lot of shots of blurred Kestrels!! Eventually the attack paid of and the Raven departed, great bit of action though!

Ironically the Kestrel fresh from seeing off the Raven got mobbed by Hirundines!!

Having a breather

Back to it!!

I continued back along the path much the same more Linnets, Mippits and Whitethroats!

Meadow Pipit with lunch

Meadow Brown, the most common Butterfly by far, one small patch of purple flowers had over 30 on it, but I didn't see any Blue Butterflies, though did see a Marbled White