User blog:Kwilliams107/3rd May 2021

Another great morning of low effort birdwatching in the local area, with Common Cranes and Great White Egret showing well within moments of reaching the site and my first Hobby of the year easily tracking the Swallows weaving and twisting below. The slate grey back and pair of red shorts on the underside was unmistakeable for this most elegant of falcons. Although the outriders have been with us for a few weeks now, it has been very apparent in the last few days that hirundines are now arriving in numbers. Around Thompson, that seems to be mainly Swallows, though greater numbers of martins are present on the coast. The Pheasants and Red-legged Patridges are very voluble at this time of year and present in some numbers, though sadly, I have yet to see any Grey Partridge (the native species). One rather lonely individual was calling, apparently forlornly, for many weeks in 2019 but without success and was last spotted in the winter of 2020, seemingly settling for a looose association with a small family group of it's continental cousins. Large mammals too have been showing well during the daytime around Thompson Common, including hares and both Roe and Muntjac deer. The weather has returned to a more traditional English spring pattern of showers and sunshine after a strangely cold but exceptionally bright couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see what effects the high winds today have on migration.