SS15 wildlife watching: Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas

Sunday, 1 May 2022

Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 1st May 2022

Date: 1st May 2022

Time: from 4:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, dark and then cloudy, light wind, 10°C to 11°C

This was my third International Dawn Chorus Day visit to my St. Nicholas Church local patch site. The first was during the Covid-19 lockdown on 3rd May 2020 and the second last year on 2nd May 2021.

Very early starts are essential and when I woke up at 4 a.m., I could already hear a Song Thrush singing. This was followed by a Robin and a Blackbird at 4:15 a.m.

As I made the short walk from home and up Church Hill to St. Nicholas Church, I heard at least 5 singing Robins.

Although the dawn chorus was wonderful, there were 2 particular highlights during my visit, both at the end as I was walking back home.

Firstly, as I walked back home down Church Hill, I heard a calling Stock Dove in the wooded area to the south of the road although unfortunately I failed to see it. Nonetheless this was my first record for the site bringing the total to 57 species.

Secondly, at the bottom of Church Hill I heard and eventually saw a singing male Common Whitethroat in the scrub at the beginning of the track from Larkins Tyres. This was my first record for the site for 2022 bringing the total to 39 species and it was in exactly the same location as my 2021 spring records.

With regard to the dawn chorus, several Robins and a single Blackbird were singing as I arrived at St. Nicholas Church at 4:30 a.m. and I heard at least 3 singing Song Thrushes from around 4:45 a.m.

I heard my first Blackcap at 4:50 a.m. and my first Chiffchaff at 5 a.m. These 2 summer visiting warblers seemed much more numerous than during my 2 visits in 2020 and 2021. I heard at least 8 singing male Blackcaps and at least 4 singing male Chiffchaffs.

As the dawn chorus developed over the hour of my visit, the order that the various species (18) joined the symphony of sound was as follows:

Robin

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Woodpigeon

Blackcap

Wren

Chiffchaff

Great Tit

Magpie

Blue Tit

Carrion Crow

Herring Gull

Dunnock

Goldfinch

Stock Dove

Green Woodpecker

House Sparrow

Common Whitethroat

Unfortunately, since it was so cloudy as the sky lightened, I was unable to witness the early morning conjunction of Venus and Jupiter

BBC news - Venus and Jupiter conjunction: planets to almost touch in night sky

The 2 planets will be millions of miles apart but from Earth they will appear close to colliding. This planetary conjunction happens annually but this year on 30th April and 1st May they will appear much closer than usual. The same spectacle will not occur again like this until 2039.