May 9th
On what looks like being the last sunny and warm morning for a while we walked out on the Marsh and recorded 8 Blackcaps, 3 Pied Wagtails, 15 Whitethroats, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Garden Warbler, 9 Reed Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 8 Chaffinches, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Grey Partridges, 8 Sand Martins, 2 Shelduck, 1 Swallow, 6 Goldfinches, 1 singing Nightingale (159th), 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Common Buzzards, 40 Rooks, 10 Long-tailed Tits, 1 male Bullfinch singing, 2 Moorhens, 3 Skylarks, 1 Mallard, 6 Mute Swans, 2 Coot and 1 Cuckoo.
We also found good numbers of Blue-tailed and Azure Damselflies, 2 Banded Demoiselles, 1 Hairy Dragonfly and 1 Red-eyed Damselfly.

The male of a pair of starlings nesting in a telegraph pole

8 Red Kites flew W over our garden at Bishopstone between 1100 and 1220.

Red Kite

At Hillborough, David Elliott recorded 4 Red Kites, 1 Common Buzzard and 10 House Martins. He also saw 3 Hairy Dragonflies.