Cuckoo ( on the W side), Grasshopper Warbler (N of the lake), Water Rail, Reed Warbler (lake) and a Jay mewing like a Buzzard - watched this actually doing it but it had me fooled for a while. Who was it who mentioned this on the forum a week or so ago? We had the same experience at Bickershaw Rucks on April 2nd as well. This must be a new thing, no doubt because of all the Buzzards about, but I never knew they were such mimics.
It was I! On the Newton Heath thread on 12th April I wrote ...... " At nearby Clayton Vale - double figures of Jays giving some strange vocalisations - some sounding like "mewing" Buzzards!"......
They certainly had me fooled - spent ages staring skywards looking for Buzzards until the penny finally dropped!
Bill.
-- Edited by Bill Myerscough on Friday 24th of April 2009 05:51:09 AM
a Jay mewing like a Buzzard - watched this actually doing it but it had me fooled for a while. Who was it who mentioned this on the forum a week or so ago? We had the same experience at Bickershaw Rucks on April 2nd as well. This must be a new thing, no doubt because of all the Buzzards about, but I never knew they were such mimics.
I had the same experience a while ago at Moore NR in Cheshire (with Steven Astley) -we were totally fooled for ages by 3 or 4 birds all doing perfect Buzzard impressions.
Cuckoo ( on the W side), Grasshopper Warbler (N of the lake), Water Rail, Reed Warbler (lake) and a Jay mewing like a Buzzard - watched this actually doing it but it had me fooled for a while. Who was it who mentioned this on the forum a week or so ago? We had the same experience at Bickershaw Rucks on April 2nd as well. This must be a new thing, no doubt because of all the Buzzards about, but I never knew they were such mimics.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
Walking around the lake and up the old railway line this am heard four chifchaf singing . a pair of reed bunting were very active ,and two great crested grebes were in the process of the mating display.