The last BBS visit of the season on a lovely still sunny morning provided good numbers of recently fledged woodland birds along the transect route. These included at least 3 marsh tit families, numerous blue, great and coal tit juvs. and not less than two nuthatch families.
Recently fledged juv. wood warblers were being fed by adults in one area and there were at least five other territorial males along the transect route. Their alarm calls, plus those of blackcaps and blackbirds drew attention to a male goshawk hunting below the canopy, dashing between the trees at shrub layer height.
A male cuckoo calling in Minwear was nice to hear, there being so few around our area these days.
Several days ago it was also nice to see yellowhammers still resident (hanging on?) in suitable breeding habitat near Martletwy. Swallow numbers seem quite low in our area though - not many seem to be obviously visiting usual farm buildings etc.
