Simple pleasures

My first visit to Priest Hill in almost a fortnight. Grounded migrants were largely absent, but from just after 10.00hrs a steady trickle of Meadow Pipits started up, all heading S to SW. I stood rooted to the spot for almost two hours and ended up with a total of 122 - mostly small groups of one to three but including flocks of 19, 11 and 10. I can honestly say it was some of the purest, most enjoyable birding that I've had this year. To watch actively migrating birds is always a privilege and a pleasure. The fact that these modest looking birds are possibly on their way to the Iberian peninsula adds so much to the experience. Not much else was moving with them, with no wagtails and very few hirundines, but that didn't matter.

Comments

Derek Faulkner said…
I so love the simple and gratifying pleasure that you often get from seeing ordinary wildlife, so how it should be.
12 September 2017 at 14:19
Ed said…
Sounds like a perfect birding session to me Steve. March Meadow Pipit migration over the patch is one of the moments I look forward to most at the start of the year.
13 September 2017 at 13:44
Steve Gale said…
Back in the 70s when I stayed at Dungeness each September, there would be a big influx by now, with many 1,000+ days. Magical.
13 September 2017 at 18:19
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