April 2025 Ramsbury Bird Notes by Paul Swan

Goshawk

As we transition from winter to spring, so many of our winter residents start to head off and the inbound migrants start to arrive. The golden plovers will be heading back to the north of England, while the fieldfares and redwings will be off to Scandinavia. We already have chiffchaffs, blackcaps and Cetti’s warblers here and in song. The swallows should arrive in the next couple of weeks, followed by the house martins and the swifts at the beginning of May.

This is also peak nesting season. Our blackbirds are building their nest in the hedge, finches will be in shrubs, wrens in ivy and robins close to the ground. Virtually all our garden birds build their nests below our head height. It is surprising that we spot so few of them! We have seen numerous red kites flying with nesting material in their beaks or claws, and they will be heading for much higher elevations.

Some lovely sightings have included mistle thrush and song thrush, ravens, mandarin ducks, goldcrest, and a welcome kestrel soaring over the garden. Friends are lucky enough to have a pair of bullfinches nesting in their garden and making full use of the birdfeeders. Reported sighting of the month must be seeing a goshawk on a tree branch in the Savernake, munching on a squirrel while appearing totally unconcerned by the watchers just a few feet below.