Free-fall Mating

This morning I worked the Bestwood Quarry area, and on the way there had good views of a Willow Warbler singing from a tree amongst the gorse at Keith's Corner. Plenty of birds were active at the quarry; Bullfinch being the first of note, followed by the flock of Lesser Redpoll feeding in the birch plantation again. When they were feeding on the ground of the hillside a little later on, a Sparrowhawk flew over and flushed them, revealing a total of thirteen birds.

My first Whitethroat of the year was singing from the hillside scrub, a pair of Linnet were close by, and another Willow Warbler was singing from trees in the gorse at the top of the sand bank. On my way home, a pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker were mating in a tree behind the Classroom, and fell out of the tree locked together, managing to free themselves and fly off just before hitting the ground!