Going Viral. 19th-22nd March 2020

Like everybody else, we knew it was coming. Our normal lives were about to change, hopefully just in the short term, but who knows how long for? People everywhere were getting anxious about what was happening and how we'd all deal with it whether touched directly by the Coronavirus outbreak or not. Social distancing was already being advised, football had already ceased, my last game had been on the 7th when most folk had stopped shaking hands, cuddling when goals were scored, except the players of course, and were guarding their pints even more zealously than usual. We were being told that we couldn't even trust our closest friends since they could kill us! When we travelled down to Devon a week ago we were very careful to select tables in pubs and cafes that were isolated and I was already using contactless card payments for the first time in my life!

So, with a "lockdown" imminent, Mrs Caley and I, while we still could, targeted a few good extra-local birds which we'd have no chance of seeing in our garden or surrounds. The middle of March is traditionally the time of year when we get to listen to and see Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in a wood we know in Northamptonshire. As always seems to be the case, the day we chose to go, a rare day off work for me so far this year, although that would soon change, the weather was pretty grim, constant drizzle accompanying us as we walked around the mature woodland. The trees are tall in the wood and at times we couldn't even see the top of some of them through the murk. It was noticeably quiet, traffic noise was reduced owing to many folk staying at home, so we could hear the bird life clearly enough. We picked out singing Nuthatches and Goldcrests, calling Crows and Jays, various Tit species flitted from tree to tree but there was no sign of our quarry. When we heard a Woodpecker drumming we homed in on the sound but it was just a Great Spotted rattling away on a dead branch. Checking all of the trees that we'd seen the Lesser Pecker on in previous years didn't yield any this time.

We spoke to the woodland manager who was working nearby. He reckoned that there was just one Lesser Pecker in the wood this year but it had only been heard "yickering" and had remained unseen. We spent two hours going around in circles without any success so gave up, thinking that we'd return in a week or so to have another go. But, of course, we wouldn't be able to.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Northants, 22/03/2019

By Saturday the 21st the Government had taken steps to partially close the country down in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Virus but for now we could still travel. We decided to go for a "clear our heads" walk to my favourite oxymoronic place and "Go up the Downs". Birding on the South Oxon Downs can be hard work with birds scattered far and wide and the country up there is big! It's a great place to get away from everything and everybody though and in our three hour walk to the Ridgeway and back we only saw two other walkers and they were a mile away plus some of the racehorses and jockeys that are an integral part of the areas furniture. Other than that we were totally alone. In truth with so much to talk about and the anxiety that we, along with most other people, were experiencing we were not that active in our birding but preferred just to amble along.

There are some birds that we expected to see and we'd only gone about a hundred yards from the car when we saw our first Corn Buntings. A small flock of five or so adorned one of the thorny bushes that line the path although they appeared more nervous than usual, perhaps they had also heard the news and were self-isolating! I tried to stalk a couple for a photo but they weren't allowing any close approach. Corn Buntings exist in a small area about 7 miles from our home but can be really difficult to observe there so, for a Corny fix, the Downs is the place.

Corn Bunting

We pushed on further out along the track surrounded by the rolling farmland and horse gallops, noting the multitude of Red Kites and Buzzards. I have so many Red Kites over my house on a daily basis that I barely bother looking at them anymore (although that was about to change once I'd been ensconced at home for a while). One of the fields held an army of loafing Gulls, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed and Herring, all represented.

Common Buzzard

We found a couple of Stonechats but neither offered to pose closely for my camera. Yellowhammers flitted in and out of the ragged hawthorn bushes, one was carrying straw for its nest building, and Skylarks flew high overhead. The twirling sound of the Skylarks song is the sound of the summer in these parts.

Skylark

A handsome male Kestrel paid us a visit as it swooped past below us, hovering for a few minutes and then departing to try its luck elsewhere. The cereal fields here are rich hunting grounds for Kestrels. It was a warm day for March by mid-morning and the associated winds made long distance viewing of birds tricky even with the scope, owing to the heat haze and wind shake. The best time to walk on the Downs is early morning before the sun has had time to heat the raw air.

Kestrel

We returned the car and encountered another group of Corn Buntings. This time one of them stayed put for just a little longer enabling me to get some better images. We had only seen 19 species during our walk but both felt a bit more clear headed about things and a little better prepared for the scenario that was developing quickly around us and which would affect us all in the coming weeks.

Overnight the Government had hardened their stance and was now advising everybody to travel only if absolutely necessary and to stay close to home. A full lockdown on daily life was forecast but hadn't yet been fully implemented so we knew we could at least get out and see some birds somewhere. We decided against returning to Northamptonshire for another look for the Lesser Pecker since even I have a modicum of a moral compass so drove the short distance to Muswell Hill instead hoping to find a Wheatear or some other spring migrants. The fact that I didn't take a single photo during a two hour walk tells its own story! The weather was fine but I was even more gloomy than normal and the only birds of note that we saw, was a small flock of Fieldfare that scarpered before I'd even raised the camera, such was my malaise.

To save the morning we headed to Farmoor but by now I'd lost heart, we'd heard on the radio that the Coronavirus outbreak was getting much worse and that normal everyday life would definitely be changing, so we only walked to the top of the causeway. At least we added some Sand Martins to the year list, ten or so were hawking insects very close to the water on F1, which took our year list to 131.

I'd realised of course, along with every other birder, that things were about to get tough. It was going to get difficult to see the spring migrants that I yearn for every April and that thought depressed me. There is little to beat listening to Nightingales belt out their song from a thorn thicket, or to Turtle Doves purring away from their song posts or to a Grasshopper Warbler reeling away from an Otmoor hedgerow. It seemed as though we were not going to be able to travel to see Dartford Warblers and Woodlarks at Greenham Common, or to see Firecrests and Ring Ouzels as they pass through the county. Our annual trip to West Wales at the end of April to get our Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler and Redstart fix would be cancelled. True I've seen all of these birds on countless occasions before but I will dearly miss them this spring. Worst of all we wouldn't be able to go to Scotland in June for our eagerly anticipated holiday and see all the wonderful birds that we'd usually find there. Without wishing our lives away I was already thinking, roll on next year!

Of course it goes without saying, that I wish each and every one of you the best of health and that you and your families and friends stay safe in the weeks and months ahead. As I keep telling myself, the birds will still be there at the end of it all and, by staying out of trouble, we'll all hopefully still be around to see them!

Nightingale, Essex, 25/04/2019