Paul Nye finds a HOOPOE late on - in his back garden.........

MONDAY 18 APRIL


Most likely the last day of high pressure for a little while with the beautiful calm sunny conditions giving way to fresher SE winds as the day went on. As a result, some very early BLACK TERNS arrived in the Home Counties, including 5 at Calvert Sailing Lake and 2 at Rookery........

LITTLE CHALFONT (BUCKS)

A party of 4 RED KITES drifting slowly east at 1140 hours about a mile SE of the village


MJP joined Keith Owen and I at Rookery at about 1730 hours and within minutes I heard of a HOOPOE in Hardmead hamlet, just across the border into North Buckinghamshire. The bird had just flown into and out of Paul Nye's back garden and as I attempted to get hold of him, had flown on to a neighbours shed and then dropped down onto the grass playing area adjacent. All three of us decided to make a dash for it but despite taking just 12 minutes to get on site, the bird had flown from behind Paul's house and disappeared towards the Rectory garden 200 yards to the north. We all spread out, including Roy (Paul's father) and a birding neighbour living closeby (and later Dick Bodily) but despite an exhaustive search of the Rectory garden, the churchyard, adjoining gardens and fields, there was no further sign of the bird up until dusk.

A very attractive hamlet however and brightened up by sightings of a male GREY PARTRIDGE, a solitary late FIELDFARE, a RED KITE and two singing male Yellowhammers.

ASTWOOD (NORTH BUCKS)

Most pleasing for me as it was a belated county yeartick was a hunting BARN OWL at 1945 hours, south of the village and in the vicinity of the Green Valley Farmhouse. Before it alighted on a post, it hunted the roadside verge briefly