Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs at Warnham NR

Have had a lovely day out at Warnham Nature Reserve with Susan and Tricia. Saw my first frogspawn and Blackcap of the year. Got my first clear photos of a Chiffchaff, and some beautiful close up views of the Redpolls and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker.

 

I could have stayed in the hide by the bird feeders the whole day. Cannot recommend this place highly enough to anyone who just wants to get close up views of some stunning birds.

The design of the feeders is so good, that many natural shots are very feasible, without disturbing the birds in any way.

 

For £1 entry, this reserve has to be one of the best in the south.

 

link to Warnham NR via Horsham Council

 

In fact there really isn't much more to say. Great day and great company.

For once, there will be more photos than words on this blog tonight.

Make the most of it !

On the way home I stopped at Tescos, and found another wine bargain. Hardys Crest rose wine. Usually £10.99 per bottle, but on special offer of two for £10. Really could not say no.

Cheers :)

 

link to Tricias blog.....

 

frogspawn

 

male Blackcap

male Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Redpoll

Redpoll

Redpoll

male Siskin

male Great Spotted Woodpecker

male Great Spotted Woodpecker

male Great Spotted Woodpecker on the 'totem' pole feeder

Wildlife at work over the last four days

 

Not a lot to photograph at work over the last four days. Quite frustrating really, as on Sunday I saw my first Brimstone butterfly of the year, and watched over 30 House Martins fly over the yard during the course of the day, all heading towards the reservoirs. Frustrating because every time I was out in the yard with my camera, not one flew over, yet every time I sat down at my desk indoors, they all started flying over again !!!

 

What was even more frustrating was that yesterday (Tuesday) I was quite busy so couldn't get out in the yard much. Saw my first Swallow go over, and then saw sitting on the fence next to the bird feeders, a Robin sized bird but with a very pale chest. It flicked its tail up like a Robin too. I reached for my camera to hopefully grab a few pics through the window, but by the time I'd focused, the bird had flown. The only bird I could think of that fitted that description was a female Common Redstart. I checked with one of my birdy friends, who confirmed I was probably right. I saw the bird twice more after that, and both times I was on the phone to a customer and couldn't leave the yard. The last time I sighted the little lovely, it was on a tree on the other side of the yard. Despite walking around there several times, I never did relocate it. So no photos and no positive identification.

 

I saw the resident male Kestrel several times flying over the yard and heading for the paddocks, but again, I was caught in the office and couldn't leave to see if he was cacheing any prey again, or hunting in the fields beyond. I've still yet to see a female Kestrel, so either this male is on his own, or his mate is already on eggs and he's doing all the hunting.

 

There's lots of Woodpig and Collared Dove activity around the yard. In the paddocks most mornings I was counting Woodpigs in double figures. The puddles in the yard are very popular with all the birds for drinking and bathing. Collared Doves are favouring the fir trees behind my office for calling to each other. Blue and Great Tits are chasing each other around the feeders. Chaffinches are even more active and can be seen at the top of the firs singing away. The Robins have definitely paired up and are still diving into the low bushes by the feeders. Blackbirds, both male and female, are abundant in the paddocks.

 

At the bottom of the paddocks, the milder weather has seen one of the foxes out in the open quite a bit. I've seen him/her most days on the top of the den. He/she is very nervous though, so seeing it and grabbing a photo before it scarpers, is quite difficult, no matter how stealthily I move. I'm seriously considering taking my portable hide down to work when I next have a 'stand by' shift. My 'stand by' shifts mean I have to stay close to work and be able to get there if needed, but the phones will be diverted to my mobile and I can basically do as I please. So its feasible that I could spend quite a few hours in my hide watching the fox, and hopefully seeing if any cubs are around yet. Watch this space.

 

The most active birds I've watched over the last few days are the Pied Wagtails. I've watched a pair bickering and displaying in the yard several times, sadly again no photos due to being on the phone. They are also repeatedly singing from the unit next to my office, and flying across the yard to the same unit. Obviously the paddocks are like a giant restaurant to the Waggys, and I'm always seeing them down there. Last year, there were a pair that nested in the trees behind my office, but this year I get the feeling they've found somewhere else to nest, maybe a crevice or something similar in one of the other office roofs. Time will tell.

 

Ever get the feeling you are being watched ?

Watching the Woodpigs in the paddocks

male Pied Wagtail

Woodpig drinking from yard puddle

The four horses, Nelson, Katie, Stevie and Star, are all out of their winter jackets now. I'm still getting great pleasure from going to see them, which to me is quite amazing considering six months ago, I was scared of horses. Nelson will soon move to 'race camp'. He's in for training. Katie will also soon move for the summer, she's going to meet her future partner, and hopefully fall pregnant. So will their paddock stay empty ??? Nope ! I don't want to say any more in case I jinx it, but put it this way, if what is being said comes true, its going to be very hard for me to stay put in the office !!!

Nelson and Katie

Stevie and Star

It's all about the Ospreys.....

Due to being generally under the weather, and the weather generally being a bit pants, I haven't been out the last few days. Instead I've been watching the osprey web cams with interest.

I'm particularly interested in the ospreys at this time of year as its around now they start coming back to the UK to breed. There were four pairs that I watched on the web cams last year, and I've got the same ones all set up on my 'favourites' list for this year now.

The good news is that the Manton Bay ospreys have already laid one egg, the bad news is the female from the Dyfi project, Nora, has not yet returned from west Africa. The best news of all though is that Lady, the female osprey based at Loch of Lowes has returned. She is thought to be around 27 years old now.

I found a great web page today, that has recorded all the dates that the ospreys from around the country have arrived back in the UK. Link below.......

link to which Ospreys have been recorded as being back

Ospreys are fascinating birds. They survive solely on fish, and migrate late summer to west Africa and return again each spring. That's around 3000 miles each trip. They mate for life and are loyal. The only times an osprey will switch partners is if they failed to successfully fledge any chicks the previous year, failed to lay any eggs the previous year, or if one of them has sadly died during migration.

For the first couple of years of an ospreys life after fledging and migrating, they stay around west Africa and start returning to the UK when they are around two years old. From the age of about three years old, they will start exploring for a nest site of their own in the UK. As I previously mentioned, ospreys are very loyal, but not just to their mate, but also to their nest site.

When they arrive back at their previous nest, one of the first things they do is make it a nest again. Out goes the old material, and in comes the new.

Ospreys, on average, lay three eggs with each egg being laid two days apart. Incubation starts on the date of the last egg laid and is roughly 35-40 days with both male and female taking turns to sit on the eggs. Once hatched, the chicks are fed and nurtured by both parents. Fledging is around 50-55 days from the date of the chick hatching.

Then in August, both the adults and the juveniles will make that perilous journey back to west Africa to over-winter.

Because ospreys are still classed as a fairly rare bird in the UK, all chicks at known nest sites are ringed at the appropriate age. Some are also satellite tagged so people like you and me can actually view on the websites, where these gorgeous birds go each summer. Every now and then an un-ringed osprey will turn up in the UK.

A male bird at Manton Bay, 5R (his ring number) has a female mate who is un-ringed. They laid their first egg on the 10th April, so a second egg is imminent.

The famous Lady at Loch of Lowes is also un-ringed. Her identification has been done in previous years by the shape of her irises and her plumage. She arrived back on the 30th March, Her mate from last year, Newman, arrived back on the 24th March. They have been seen mating and gathering nesting material, so the first egg should be laid any day now. If Lady successfully hatches and rears just one chick, it will be her 50th. That would be some achievement !

These are the links to the web cams that I follow, though I'm sure there are others out there.

link to EJ and Odins webcam - Loch Garten

link to Monty and Noras webcam - Dyfi

link to 5R and MB female - Manton Bay

link to the famous Lady and Newman - Loch of Lowes

So on the days that I don't get out and about enjoying my own local wildlife, this is what I do. Open a large bottle of rose wine and enjoy watching these magnificent ospreys on their own web cams.

My second visit of the year to see Rhyls birds, family and friends

Just back from four fun-filled family days in Rhyl, Nth Wales and managed to grab a few hours on the beach bird watching. I have two cousins that live in the area with their families, and through them I've made several friends, so I always look forwards to my trips there. I stay with David and his wife, Joe, and they live literally two streets away from the prom and beach. I've been going there for a few years now so they're well used to me popping off to do some bird watching for an hour or two each day. Luckily for me the weather stayed dry. All the usual birds were to be seen, Redshanks and Turnstones are guaranteed. I was hoping to see some Sandwich Terns, but had to make do with a group of six Great Crested Grebes bobbing about on the water. I also saw my first Curlew of the year, and although the pictures are poor, you can see how close he came to the prom wall.

 

Curlew

plenty of gulls around in various stages of plumage

Redshank

Curlew

Redshank

Turnstones

90% sure this is a Rock Pipit, but feel free to correct me

Huge population of House Sparrows in all the gardens along the sea front

We made a brief visit to RSPB Conwy as well over the weekend. Nothing much of note there at the time, though they had an Osprey fly over two days previously. It's very child friendly there. Eleven year old Aimee enjoyed playing Bird Bingo, and some of the bird hides had windows low enough for two year old Jack to see out of. My cousins and their families are into Geocaching, so we found a cache that was nearby too. The mountains around here are still heavily covered in snow. Made quite a contrast against the green grass and trees.

 

I've attached a link to RSPB Conwy and Geocaching below.....

 

link to everything you need to know about Geocaching

 

link to RSPB Conwy home page

 

view from RSPB Conwy. Snowy mountains in the background

Yesterday Joe and I took Jack to visit Joes friend, Katie and her two boys. It was one of those days that wasn't planned, but which turned into a great day. Very near to where Katie lives is Bodafon Farm. It's free to get in, has a steak restuarant, lots of children's toys, a playground, farm animals, and is also the base for the North Wales Bird Trust.

 

deer at Bodafon

lamb at Bodafon

one of many owls at Bodafon

link to Bodafon Farm website

 

link to the North Wales Bird Trust website

 

 

We all enjoyed our walk around the farm, even if we did get chased by some territorial geese. The owners immediately rounded the geese up and apologised to us. Apparently the geese have only just started acting like this, so they're looking into putting them in a new enclosure. They also mentioned dogs were actually allowed on site so long as they're kept on leads, so next time we visit we can bring David and Joes dog, Buster. We saw Red and Fallow deer, llamas, pigs, sheep, cows, horses and geese, ducks and chickens. The sheep have complete free range of the farm, so we had lots of encounters with ewes and lambs walking past us.

 

This is another place I would like to go back to, especially to learn more about the work the North Wales Bird Trust does. We saw some lovely owls, but most of them weren't native to the UK. However the NWBT is also the primary point of contact when it comes to rescuing owls and birds of prey in the North Wales area.

 

After the farm we done some more geocaching along the Llandudno prom, and I found my first one !! I'm now signed up on the Geocaching website. However whether or not I keep it up remains to be seen lol. What was important though, was that we all had a good day, even the boys.

 

James and Jack

 

Harri
 

So a really lovely four days spent with friends and family. I'm going back mid May so will hopefully get some more photos of all of them, and possibly squeeze in a day visit to RSPB Conwy too.

 

Back at David and Joes, I had to take a photo of their pup, Buster. The last time I saw him was in January, and well, see for yourself how much he has grown........

 

Buster. Jan 2013

Buster. April 2013

The can of Fosters was obviously just for measuring purposes.............hic

 

Lastly, a big thanks to all my family and friends up there. You all make it so much harder for me to leave every time I visit. So a quick name check for you all.......David, Joe, Aimee, Jack, Karen, Dave, Melissa, Michael, Harrison, Brandon, Richard, Rachel, Katie, Steve, James, Harri, Paula, Chris, Rhi, Kieron, and to the two that I didn't see on this visit, Jen and Sharlotte, and the two puppys,

Buster and Keith................Big thanks and see you all next month X 

Waxwings at Cranford Park - a first for me in nearly ten years.

That great yellow orb was out today, but also the usual cold wind was with it too, so wrapped up as if it was still winter, I went off to Cranford Park.

 

The new wildlife pond in front of the Information Centre is almost finished. Planting has been done. As its still empty you can clearly see the different depths the pond will have. Whoever planned this has really thought it through. It's going to look really good when its full of water and properly established.

 

 

I only found two Kestrels today, a pair again. The female stopped to have her photo taken but the male flew over me,heading towards the A312 and M4. The fact this female is still being seen is a clear indicator eggs have not yet been laid. Once they are laid, the female incubates the eggs while the male hunts and brings her food on the nest. At this time of year I would expect the female to be more on her nest getting ready for laying rather than still flying around. The cold weather could be the reason why she is so active still.

 

 

What I did expect to see was lots of woodpecker activity, and I did. I missed loads of fantastic photo opportunities, either due to being disturbed by dog walkers, or my camera not focusing due to twigs and leaves in front of the birds. The Great Spotted Woodpeckers are every where, drumming, calling and flying around after each other. Not long now until they start choosing their nesting site.

 

poor record shot of female Great Spotted Woodpecker

The Green Woodpeckers are also very very vocal. Their loud 'yaffle' call can be heard all across the woodland. I found today that if you spotted one Green Woodpecker making its way up a tree, there was a second not far behind it. Again I missed several good photo opportunities, especially as they were often quite near the bottoms of the trees.

 

Green Woodpecker at base of trunk

male Green Woodpecker - note the red 'moustache'. Females 'moustaches' are all black.

What I didn't expect to see today were Waxwings. I was making my way back to the old stable block when I heard a 'trilling' and saw fly over, what I first thought, were a flock of Starlings. They settled right at the top of one of the trees, and I could then clearly see they were Waxwings. My photos were useless today as they were perched so high up, and the only way you could see them was by looking directly into the sun. A passing dog walker told me he had seen the birds at Cranford Park every day since Friday. He had also seen them resting on the tops of the aerials in Roseville Road, Hayes. We watched the birds for over 20 minutes before they all flew off over the M4 towards the Hayes area. Despite walking up and down Roseville Road several times, I could not find them again.

 

These are beautiful little birds from Scandinavia. They don't breed in the UK, and you generally only see them during the winter months. I never thought I would see them in April. Last winter season, 2012-2013, was an exceptionally good year for Waxwing sightings, though to my knowledge none had been seen around the Hayes area. I saw them in South Ealing and in Shepperton, in January and February. Sightings are still being reported around East London as well at the moment. The second photo is of a Waxwing I photographed in South Ealing in January. It gives you a clearer picture of what these incredible little birds look like. I've also added a link to the RSPB Guide to Waxwings, for more photos and facts about these Scandinavian beauties.

 

Cranford Park Waxwings. Approx 30 were seen.

 

South Ealing Waxwing in Jan 2013

link to RSPB Guide to Waxwings

Another bird I didn't expect to see today, was a solitary Fieldfare in the Memorial Garden behind St Dunstans. This is another winter visitor to the UK, and although I'm still seeing quite large flocks of these at work, I've never seen one at Cranford Park. I've also never seen a solo bird, as Fieldfares are quite skittish and prefer to be in flocks.

 

 

So along with seeing two birds generally only seen in the winter months, I then found something normally only seen in sunny warm weather, a Comma butterfly. True, once the sun was out in full, it did feel warmer and the wind did die down a little bit, but a butterfly was the last thing I expected to see today.

 

So a very mixed bag of nature at Cranford Park today. Displaying woodpeckers, which you would expect in Spring, Winter visiting birds and the first signs of Summer in the form of a Comma butterfly.

 

Comma butterfly, probably not long awake after hibernating all winter



A quiet Easter Sunday at work with Mr Kes

I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days, so hadn't been out and about taking any photos. Today, however, I made up for it. Even though I still wasn't feeling 100%, I went to work and took my trusty camera. It might be Easter but in my job that doesn't mean there is no work. Saturday nights are quite busy and there were still night drivers out when I got in this morning. They were still over an hour away from getting back to the yard though, so I quickly nipped down to the paddocks to see the horses and see if the cold snap had kept the Fieldfares and Redwings here. And it had.

 

Fieldfare. Must have been at least 40 around today plus about 20 Redwings.

Fieldfare

Redwing on the left, and Fieldfare on the right.

The temperature meant the horses water troughs and the over flow puddle, were frozen. The over flow puddle is very popular with bathing Goldfinches, Dunnocks, Chaffinches and Starlings. I normally use Star or Stevie, the pony's, to hide behind and take photos. Star was up for the job today and I leaned around her neck to get the below photographs.

 

Pied Wagtail and Goldfinch on iced over puddle

Its not Dancing on Ice, its Pied Wagtail on Ice.

I went back to the office and warmed up, saw off the remaining night drivers, caught up with all the out-standing paperwork and waited for the sun to rise. At lunchtime I went back down the paddocks, and the sun had thawed the frosty grass and the iced up over flow puddle. It was Stevies turn to hide behind, so after a couple of carrots, Stevie led me to the puddle.

 

Chaffinch waiting for Goldfinch to finish its bath

Dunnock

Goldfinch and teasels

I bumped into Nelson and Katies owner, Bill, while I was there. While we were chatting the resident male Kestrel flew across the paddock and landed in its favourite tree. Off I went in pursuit. I know Kestrels are fairly common, but they really are my favourite little falcon. Mr Kes was active today. He flew off towards the fields at the very back of the paddocks, but soon came back with some prey and landed on the fence.

 

Mr Kes off hunting

Mr Kes above my head

Mr Kes with prey......a half eaten mouse

Mr Kes then done something I'd never seen him do before. He 'hid' the remainder of his prey. This is called 'cacheing'. A Kestrel will consume about six mice, small birds or voles per day, and will sometimes just take a mouthful of each and cache the rest. They will then normally go back to where they have cached the remains, just before sunset. This means they don't go to roost on an empty stomach. I watched silently as Mr Kes jumped off his fence perch and walked up to the long grass around the thorny shrub where I normally see the Goldcrests in Nelson and Katies paddock.

 

Mr Kes. His half eaten mouse is gripped in his left claw

Mr Kes walking towards the long grass at the bottom of the thorny shrub. Sorry for quality of photo. I was peering over the fence by this stage, but trying to do it slowly so I wouldn't spook Mr Kes.

Mr Kes emerges triumphant from cacheing his prey.

I didn't see Mr Kes after that. He will have several little caches with in his hunting territory. I'm just pleased and privileged to have seen one of them.

 

Katie and Nelson enjoyed the brief sunny interludes and ran around their paddocks sending all the Fieldfares, Redwings, Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes up into the trees. Nelson only has a couple more weeks here, before he goes for what I call Summer Holiday Camp (training stables for racehorses). Katie will go for her holiday too soon, hers will be a bit more interesting I think. Shes going to be meeting the father of her future foal, wink wink, nudge nudge. But in their place an old friend will be coming back.....watch this space for more details, and photos, in about 3-4 weeks.

 

 

Of course Easter wouldn't be Easter without a sighting of an Easter Bunny, so here's a pic of one of the rabbits at the back of the paddocks this morning.

 

 

Happy Easter everyone, and cheers :)