Axe Cliff - Birds and Big Bunnies

I enjoyed a couple of hours walking around Axe Cliff this morning, somewhere I haven't been much at all so far this spring.  The overcast weather and lack of wind created the perfect conditions for spring optimism - hence my visit here.

It wasn't in any way busy, however it was a really enjoyable morning with a light smattering of migrants, a bit of vismig, and all the locally resident species of bird, and other wildlife, showing well.  I could have stayed out all morning to be honest.

I'll start overhead, where Swallows trickled west, along with a single Whimbrel and my first Tree Pipit of the year, passing just off the cliff edge at 06:54 as it buzzed its way west.

Grounded migrants included three lovely (and large-looking) Wheatears, one Sedge Warbler in full song and a really healthy total of 24 Whitethroats - most of which looked to be on breeding territories.

Male Wheatear, love the rusty mantle

Female Wheatear - looking long and leggy!

The Whitethroats along the road love singing off the wires 

Another really nice highlight was seeing two Brown Hares.  Axe Cliff is the last part of the patch where you can still see Hares, however sightings are seemingly getting more and more sporadic.  These were my first for a good few years.  One of them will be incredibly easy to track though, because it looked like this...

Thought it was someones escaped pet rabbit on my first view!

Nope - certainly a Hare!

 

Its mate was of the more regular variety...

Looking great sat up - top animals

 

Whilst I was at Axe Cliff I was missing what would have been my first Cuckoo of the year, that others were hearing in the river valley.  By the time I got down there it had gone silent, but there were still birds to be had...

On Colyford Marsh, two Little Ringed Plovers were on the scrape, with my first Bar-tailed Godwit of the spring (sadly a grey one) feeding with a couple of Whimbrel on the grass towards the River Coly.  Three Gadwall flew downriver, the lingering Marsh Harrier remained in view for most of the time and my first two Common Swifts of the year were with the 60+ feeding hirundines above Bridge Marsh.

Looking really settled here!

 

 

So not a morning of spring birding that will go down in history, but enjoyable nonetheless.