Purring EUROPEAN TURTLE DOVE this evening

BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY 3 MAY (WEEK 18)

Well, it certainly does not feel like the first week in May. I had to resort again to winter gloves today and throughout, the fresh Northeasterly wind was biting. Temperatures struggled to make double figures but at least it remained largely dry, with just the odd light shower.

With so many rares being 1 or 2 dayers of late, I decided to spend the day locally, catching up on vital survey work. It was a very rewarding day, climaxed with a new colony of FIRECRESTS and at the end by a purring EUROPEAN TURTLE DOVE - a very rare sight indeed locally these days........

Whilst I was failing to find Turtle Dove, Steve Rodwell was watching one..........

TOP SCRUB, IVINGHOE BEACON (BUCKS)
(evening visit)

Joining Steve and Vicky and David Bilcock, all four of us listened intently to the sweet soft purring of a EUROPEAN TURTLE DOVE from dense Hawthorn scrub in the Top Scrub at Ivinghoe, 200 yards from the main car park. In the fierce NE wind and above the constant whine of aircraft after aircraft taxi-ing into Luton Airport, it was difficult to hear this distinctive sound of summer and after much searching, we all eventually obtained flight views of the bird.

Top Scrub also held 6 singing male GARDEN WARBLERS and 3 COMMON SWIFTS flew east (Lee Evans).