Dead End Birding

Up at first light assuming today would be a good migration day as there was rain first thing and a nice breeze. Tried Margate cemetery as yesterday saw a few birds there and thought the weather might bring a ‘fall’. Sorry for the bad pun but the place was dead… or at least devoid of migrants where I looked at least.

There were lots of corvids with Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw and Carrion Crows visible and vocal. A number of squirrels including one of the reddest Grey Squirrels I’ve ever seen.

The graveyard is still occassionally in use but most graves are very old and overgrown. With so many trees and shrubs but regular mowing it is someway between woodland and scrub and excellent habitat.

A Sparrow-hawk chased a Magpie into a tree where several Magpies combined to ‘see it off’. I saw feather evidence that the Sparrow-hawk has preyed on magpies before. All over the place were pigeon and dove feather mounds, so the Sparrow-hawk is making a good living there!

Everywhere I went a Robin followed. It looks an ideal place to catch up with a Ring Ouzel or Wryneck on passage… I’ll keep going back there as it covers a large area and must be the biggest patch of trees in Thanet. Now designated as a nature reserve I believe.

Rant it out!
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