A fine, clear, calm night had caused the temperature to plummet and when I woke at 06:00 there was a crisp frost. The cold had not deterred the birds: Goldfinches and Greenfinches were breakfasting at our seed feeders while Wood Pigeon, Collared Doves and Dunnock fed on the ground below. After my own breakfast, I headed out on my regular walk (although not as regular as I would like) which takes me from Henlow via Henlow Grange to Langford then north alongside the River Ivel to Langford Mill before turning south-westwards and crossing Langford Meadows to Stanford Lock and then home by way of Clifton. Overnight the Collared Dove nest in our silver birch tree seems to have succumbed to the local moggies, as there was broken shell under the tree and the flimsy nest looked even more fragile. The Pyghtles, Henlow’s playing fields was white with frost, except for the close-shaved strip of the cricket pitch, prepared for the opening game of the season later today. A flock of 40 Starlings were the only birds but on the nearby school fields was a group of four Stock Doves and a lone female Mallard. My first warbler of the day was a Chiff-chaff, rendering its name from the plantation on the bank of the R. Ivel. In the cold morning air the fishing lakes were steaming, hiding any but the closest waterfowl that might have been present. I only saw Coot and Mute Swans but Blackcap and Willow Warblers sang from the scrub surrounding the lakes. Beside the northernmost pond, a water-side tree rising above the mist provided a perch for four Cormorants. Even though the sun was now up, the frost still remained. On the edge of Langford village a male Whitethroat was an incongruous sight as moved through the dense tangle of a frost-rimed bramble. Further Whitethroats and Blackcaps were seen and heard in shrubbery beside the R. Ivel. Now the sun was higher, the frost had disappeared from all but shaded areas and as I crossed Langford Meadows my boots got a soaking from the now very wet grass. Faint at first, the reeling song of a Grasshopper Warbler, often likened to the sound of fishing line being reeled in, was heard on the still morning air. The Gropper was eventually located in the middle of a large bramble on the bank of a stream but I never saw it, not even a flicker of movement. While I was in the area, for nearly 20 minutes, it reeled almost continuously with only short pauses, none longer than a minute. Nearby by in another streamside bush was a much more obliging Sedge Warbler, which was not only heard but also seen, bringing my warbler tally for the morning to six. Near Stanford Lock, I saw my only Swallow of the morning, a single bird following the R. Ivel north-westwards. Many summer visitors, including Swallow seem later arriving and/or less numerous than in previous years. Later perusal of the web suggested that Swallow numbers were down 90% compared with recent years (BTO’s Bird Track, www.bto.org/birdtrack/index.htm). Theories for this include problems in sub-Saharan Africa where large amounts of pesticide, used to quell last year’s locust plague, could have seriously reduced the insect prey available to migrant birds heading for Europe. Near Clifton I heard the unmistakable call of a Cuckoo, my first of the year. I was back in Henlow about 3-hours after setting out having recorded 47 species on my local patch.
