Unknown Reserve

On Friday we went to a reserve that the vast majority had never visited before.  We saw most of the early spring species, but the Common Terns haven't yet arrived.  No words of mine can convey the enjoyment of the participants with this delightful location.  Luckily, there were no over-large Kingfishers in residence to overfill the car park.

Great Crested Grebe

 Record shot of Blackcap

 Record shot of Blackcap about to fly

 Chiffchaff actually mid chiff

 Chiffchaff

 Long-tailed Tit

 Willow Warbler

 Ditto

 Treecreeper

 Ditto

 Peacocks on Blackthorn

 Moorhen Eggs

 Bee Fly (Bombylius major) ID by Africa Gomez

 Local Portrait of Long-eared Bat

Flowering with Birds!

On Thursday we visited a local bluebell wood for the first time in about 4 years. The day started well with 2 Peregrines engaged in a dogfight directly above the rather dangerous parking area. In fact one new participant was sure that a third one joined the fray briefly.

Goldcrest

 Peregrine

 Ditto

Initially, we walked up the steep incline to the top of the hill and had a look down the attractive hedgerow. We found a Yellowhammer here, and had Skylarks singing above fields and Meadow Pipits flying past. By looking in a contrary direction to everyone else, Elaine spotted a lazy Heron flying towards us.  In the afternoon there was a really unusual bird of prey noise, then the silhouette of a small owl like bird was seen flying towards us before disappearing into the blackthorn. Only a single Jay flew out! 

Heron

 Ditto

 Jay

 Ditto

 Ditto

 Yellowhammer

 Ditto

 Ditto

 In the woodland itself we had a Willow Warbler immediately, which made some strange calls I'd never heard before. The bluebells were just emerging, but the Wood Anenomes and Wood Sorell were putting on a fine display. Later, Primroses and WIld Garlic were also seen, but the latter hadn't yet opened their flowers. In the afternoon the monotonous song of a Marsh Tit was heard, and later another was heard sneezing.

Wood Anenome

 Ditto

 Bluebells

 Wild Garlic

 Primroses

 Dog Violet

 Fresh Beech Leaves

 When we arrived at the older section of the woodland we eventually saw a Treecreeper hanging upside down under a rather thin branch. The Blackcap was singing beautifully nearby, until it was disturbed by a low-flying helicopter. After that had gone we did manage to relocate it in the area of a fine old beech. Looking over a gate Elaine spotted a Song Thrush, and displaying Lapwings. Our walk down the valley was interrupted by a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, which seemed a little over-excited.

Chiffchaff

 Record shot of Female Blackcap

 Marsh Tit

 Ditto

 Goldcrest

 Ditto

 Ditto

 Ditto

 Ditto

 Ditto

 Ditto

 Rook

 We examined the valley for a while, and added a pair of Song Thrushes, and a Long-tailed Tit. We began our journey to the cars. Phil tried to string a distant chaffinch perched singing on a stump to a Kestrel, but I was convinced of its finch nature. We slipped into the wood for a short time near some conifers, and were rewarded with at least 3 Goldcrests. At lunch time a Buzzard was soaring just east of the parking area.

King Alfred's Cakes

Warblers You Don't Normally See

This post is dedicated to the memory of Maureen Moore, who was one of the original 10 students on Wednesday mornings 11 years ago.  Sadly, Maureen passed away on Tuesday morning after a year's illness. RIP.

 Yellowhammer

 Ditto

It was a lovely sunny morning when we started with an icy feel to the wind, but it was much less windy than yesterday.  The sun didn't remain out for long! It was a quiet start with just Greylag Geese in the first field and a few Skylarks rising into the air. A Song Thrush could be heard singing lustily in the distance. On the return journey 2 Oystercatchers had joined them, and there were 3 Curlews in the same field by the afternoon. On the first turning on the left we did eventually find a Yellowhammer, but this was after we'd heard and then seen our first Whitethroat - one of the earliest I've ever seen. At the end of the lane we looked into a field and saw a large flock of Shelduck lying among the young crop. In another field were a pair of Mute Swans, and there were more Greylags scattered around. 

Whitethroat

 Cetti's Warbler

 Ditto

We retraced our steps and then continued on the main path. In the morning we watched a pair of Marsh Harriers just visible over the floodbank. On both sessions we saw Sand Martins, House Martins and a few Swallows.  At the first lake we could hear distant Blackcap and Willow Warbler, whilst Mute Swan was the only bird on the water. We continued along the main path. The highlight here was a Cetti's Warbler, which exploded in a bush near us, and gave brief glimpses of itself as it seemed to view us briefly from every direction. A Little Grebe was heard chittering from one of the lakes by both groups, but wasn't actually seen on either visit. A little further up the lane were three Blackcaps in total, and there was a trio of Chiffchaffs chasing each other. Eventually, we had a decent view of a male Reed Bunting, but they seem a lot thinner on the ground round this particular area than in other years. A Kestrel was seen hunting after lunch.  

Blackcap

The riverbank added very few extra species, but we did see a pair of Tufted Ducks on the lake, and in the afternoon we had a Curlew flying inland, and the first Sedge Warbler of the year singing at the edge of the lake.  

Chiffchaff

On the return journey we heard a pair of Kingfishers making a really unusual sound, and one of them flew low over the very still water in a circle before disappearing to where it originally flew from. A little further on Miles spotted a Yellowhammer, and three females were also in attendance. There were also some Pied Wagtails in the same field. A few Linnets flew over in the morning, but we couldn't find any in the afternoon, and neither session had any Meadow Pipits. 

 Ditto

 Reed Bunting

We saw a total of 45 species in the morning, so it was almost as rewarding for the number of birds as going to one of the major reserves in the area.