May 2026 Ramsbury Bird Notes by Paul Swan

Raven

The swallows arrived over the Easter weekend, and have already been joined by the house martins, both a little earlier than last year. The swifts should be joining us in the next few weeks and will hopefully take up residence in the Square. Some may also accept the offer of the brand-new swift boxes on the South side of the High Street. Fingers crossed.

Many birds return to the same nests year after year. These include the red kites that are at home here. We are aware of four sites where the birds are back and probably already sitting on eggs. The kestrels have also returned to the same dead tree on the way to Littlecote for the fourth year running. The nest must be in a hollow, as we cannot see it, but one of the adults is usually perched on a branch ready to see off any intruders. While we are used to seeing red kites being mobbed by crows and rooks, we have now seen ravens being chased away from nest sites by the red kites.

Seven Bridges continues to be one of the best areas to see a wide variety of birds. On a recent visit we saw kingfishers and heard five different warblers - blackcap, chiffchaff, Cetti's warbler, reed and willow warbler. All being well, one or more cuckoos are on the way, and one usually stays in this same area.