Wild at Hull: Noddle Hill Dawn Chorus

Monday, 4 May 2015

Noddle Hill Dawn Chorus

We were greeted at Noddle Hill by a very lively dawn chorus, with 14 species singing by 5:00 am. The moon was out, and the sky mostly clear and it was surprisingly mild. As usual this time of year, warblers were aplenty, with Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge, Reed, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler all singing. A Song thrush provide amusement by imitating some watch alarm, which confused us for a while, a house alarm and raptor calls, a Sedge Warbler wasn't much behind, with a spot on impersonation of a Goldfinch and a wagtail. We soon surprised a Roe Deer in the scrub. He seemed curious and reluctant to move away. We counted five roe deer in total, including a female, and two males that appear to chase each other playfully in a game of tig. Dark clouds appeared, followed by a cooler breeze and a glowing, giant rainbow. At the same time a Little Egret passed by. Robert spotted a Barn Owl, which we saw quartering the reserve most of the time we were there. The breezy, rainy day yesterday might have forced it to feed in the day time. After a very short drizzle, the sun came out again. A Skylark sung its song, and a distant Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed. After three hours walking around the many paths of the reserve and a total of 40 species it was time to go home for breakfast.