We're not. We got more great views today including an attempt by a female to mug our female Peregrine of here well earned dinner. Raptors were everywhere today, with Six species seen throughout the day. Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Buzzard and a superb Hobby. We were really hoping for a rarity in the form of a Honey Buzzard or an Osprey but neither appeared. Ospreys are certainly on the move in the UK, so we should be seeing the odd one passing through in the next few weeks.
Another migrant passed through today in the form of a Clouded Yellow, a butterfly that usually appears in the Uk around this time of year but usually at coastal sites where they can be common in some years. So if your at the Rock in the next few weeks look out for some bright Yellow butterflies an ofcourse an Osprey or two. Well, maybe not two ospreys but i'll be dissapointed if we don't see one. Keep your fingers crossed!
Yip, you heard right folks, summer is officially over. Today at the viewpoint several hundred swifts were seen heading south. Its always quite sad to these magnificent birds disappear for the winter. We also got a few other 'autumn' migrants pass through today. Probably Common Gull being the most notable and a Green Sandpiper on the river last Wednesday.
The mass movement of swift attracted a Hobby that kept appearing through the day but I don’t think it managed to inconvenience any of the swifts. Another good looking raptor also made a welcome return to our sightings board this afternoon. A Red Kite! We've not seen one of these for well over a month. Just to make the day even better the Goshawks continued to show regularly including one juv that took a real disliking to a young buzzard. The Buzz decided it would knock the Goshawk off its perch, so obviously this meant war. The Goshawk started chasing the buzzard all over the valley, repeatedly giving it a few left hooks and a boot in the backside. Eventually the buzzard threw in the towel and dived for cover. I guess that buzzard wont be going anywhere near goshawks in the near future.
Usually its birds of prey that get all the attention at the rock but over the past few weeks another species has been making the headlines, Crossbills. Theres been a bit of an influx to the UK over the last month and we've certainly had our fair share. We've had flocks of up to 30 going through the valley in all directions. Sightings have started to dry up but there are still some hanging around in certain areas of the Forest of Dean.
I can't update the Blog without mentioning our peregrines, but as usual they are not up to much. They seem to be spending most of their time sitting around on the cliff watching all the antics of our other raptors, but still providing us with great views. We also had a youngster pass overhead this morning, hopefully one of many that have fledged from other nests in the county.