Sunny May morning at Cranford Park.

The weather forecast said a sunny morning and a cloudy windy afternoon, so I was at Cranford Park at 6.30am. It was incredibly peaceful, a lot of birds were singing but not many were to be seen.

 

 My main interest today was to locate the Kestrels. My friend Sue also thought she may have found another Kestrel nest so I arranged to meet up with her later in the morning. Another local, Tony, also has an interest in Cranford Park and the Kestrels, so arranged to meet him as well. Three pairs of eyes are better than one.

 

Whilst alone, I found not one Kestrel. I even parked myself on the convenient log by the woodland nest hoping to see one of them, but nothing. I had a wander around the woods, marvelling in the carpets of bluebells. Red Campion and Ragged Robin are also coming in to flower now. The new wildlife pond outside the Information Centre is full of water now. It's going to look great when it's fully established. I also played hide and seek with a male Green Woodpecker that I found on the hollow tree where the Kestrels used to be seen regularly.

 

Bluebells

 

carpets of Bluebells

Peek-a-boo

male Green Woodpecker

The wildlife pond

Red Campion and Bluebells in the background

 

Up by where the Pied Fly was seen a few weeks ago, the Whitethroats are back. At least three birds seen today. Not as many as Lake Farm, but its a different habitat at CP, so this is exactly what I would expect.

 

Common Whitethroat

In between the Info Centre and St Dunstans church, there's a little patch of shrubs. I could hear the Blackcaps there before I could see them. I've been getting photos of the male Blackcap everywhere I've been recently, but not the female. Luckily for me today, this female popped up in front of me.

 

female Blackcap

Peek-a-boo again !

By now it was time to meet Tony. We wandered over to the nest site, me moaning about how I hadn't seen any of the Kestrels all morning, when both birds circled above us, and above the tree we think they're nesting in. By the time we got to our viewing point for the tree, we lost sight of both of them. Then the female flew over us, and I grabbed the photo below. We checked the hollow tree and the surrounding trees and found not a sign of the male.

 

 

We wandered around the park after that, noting the huge number of Carrion Crows that were on the grass. There must have been fifty birds at least. Why there were all on the ground, we don't know. I wandered if they were feeding on worms as the ground was still relatively soft, but couldn't actually see any of them eating anything.

 

Skylarks could be heard from within the long grass, but not seen. A few Swifts went overhead, and we watched a lone House Martin flying very low over the grass catching insects.

 

Back at the Old Chestnut tree, we took a break. From the far right a pair of Kestrels flew up and circled, but didn't head towards the woodland, which by this time was on our left hand side Were these the River Kestrels ? We met up with Sue shortly afterwards and she took us to the copse of trees where she was sure she's seen Kestrels and a nest a couple of weeks ago. This copse is right at the back of the park, on the opposite side to the ancient woods, and backing onto Cranford Lane, with a muddy River Crane running nearby. The leaves had all come out since then so it was hard to determine exactly what tree, but as we got nearer a Kestrel took off from the copse, so we knew we were in the right place. So it is almost certain that there are two pairs on site. I always suspected this, so it was nice to be almost sure. This area is also where I've been told a Tawny roosts, and Tony has heard one from this corner of the park as well. So it looks like I'll be making a few more journeys to this part of the site in future.

 

Back in the ancient woodland we had a slow wander around. More Blackcaps were seen singing. A GS Woodpecker flew over, and we saw several Jays, Robins and Blackbirds. We checked the tree where the Green Woodpeckers nested last year, and found it still occupied by a Ring-Necked Marmite, just like it was when I last saw it. I had sort of hoped they would have fledged their young by now, so the Green Woodys could reclaim their old nest site, but I don't think it's going to happen.

 

Marmite in old Greenys nest hole.

 

So not a bad morning out and about.

It was nice to have company from two locals as well. Thanks Tony and Sue.

 

It was great to finally see the Kestrels circling above. At this time of year they will be incubating, so to see two birds probably meant there had been a food pass made. Kestrels incubate for 30 days, and we don't know when the first egg was laid. However as most of you know, I am an avid bird nest web cam watcher. The Kestrel ones that I watch from all over the UK, have all been late due to the dreadful beginnings of Spring we had. So instead of most eggs being laid in the third and fourth week of April, most were not laid until the first few days of May. So by my estimations I would expect to see more Cranford Park Kestrel activity around the 1st of June, when hopefully the first eggs will be hatching and the parents will be bringing in food. Only time will tell. 

It was all about the Whitethroats at Lake Farm today (and a brief visit to Cranford Park)

I probably done myself no favours in going out today. I've developed blisters under most of my toes on my left foot, probably as a result of limping on Saturday and Sunday (after of course falling over twice on Friday !!), but there was no way I could stay in on such a glorious day.

 

First port of call was Lake farm where there are lots of handy benches dotted around. The site was alive with the sounds of singing Common Whitethroats. They were every where. I walked all over the site today, instead of favouring one area, and Whitethroats have definitely taken over the Reed Buntings crown for numbers. The only place they weren't as numerous was in the long grasses favoured by the Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. I saw a couple of birds clinging on to the delicate stems of last years flowering parsley heads, but they definitely seemed to be more comfortable, and at home, in the shrubby thorn bushes.

 

On my last visit, I found that by sitting at one particular bench, I kept seeing three individual Whitethroats singing from three separate shrubs and trees. Today I sat at the same bench, and again, three birds were singing from the same shrubs and trees. Obviously they are marking their territories. Quite a few pairs were chasing each other around.

 

 I find Whitethroats very difficult to sex. The males have a much greyer head than the females, whose head is almost a tawny colour in harsh light. Some of the birds were flying high up and singing, and almost acting like a Skylark (saw several of them today too).

 

So excuse my influx of Whitethroat photos, I just couldn't resist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also had some nice, if distant, views of Meadow Pipits displaying. Mipits at Lake Farm are hard to get close to due to their constant disturbance by dogs and kids. It appears to have left them very flighty. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, and kids, but why let them run through waist high grass ??? There are more than enough grass paths cutting across Lake Farm, plus two children's playgrounds. The council really should put up signs saying there are ground nesting birds at Lake Farm.

 

Mipit display one

Mipit display two

Mipit display three

Lots of butterflies around as to be expected. I saw Brimstone, Comma, Tortoiseshell, Orange-Tip males and females, Holly Blue and this very obliging Peacock.

 

 

Also seen today was a very camera shy Willow Warbler, two male Blackcaps, several singing Skylarks, Chiff Chaffs (one seen but several heard) and the resident male GS Woodpecker. He seems to have finished excavating his nest hole now. It looks incredibly neat and round. No sign of a female today, though the male was making his way up, down and around the trunk intermittently drumming. Only found one pair of Reed Buntings today. I am still finding this very strange. I had such great numbers there during the winter months, and fully expected them to breed. Now it appears most have just over-wintered at Lake Farm and gone on to other areas.

 

Many people automatically think Lake Farm is a farm. Its not. The reason behind the name is from the people who originally owned the grounds. I believe there used to be large ornamental lake as well, but that was filled in for some reason. The park used to stretch all the way across to where Stockley Park now is. I'm no historian, but I know a man who is, so have emailed him asking for a bit more history behind the name and the park itself.

 

Just one of many views across Lake Farm. The area on the right is where the Skylarks and Mipits nest.
The copses and shrubs on the left are where to find the Whitethroats.

Despite hobbling a bit, and padding out the blisters under my toes, it was an enjoyable morning. Yesterday on the way home from the London Wetland Centre, I'd taken Phillip and Joe for a brief walk around Cranford Park. What struck me as odd though, was there wasn't one sign of any of the Kestrels. My last visit to Cranford Park there were guaranteed views of them. We looked in the usual trees but to no avail. This  had played on my mind last night, so despite my feet being painful, I made my way over to there.

 

Luckily I know the woodland well so knew which vantage points had the best logs to sit on. Despite two hours of watching the nest (from a distance of course) and the kestrels favoured hollow tree for cacheing food and preening, I only saw the male twice and both times he went nowhere near the nest tree nor the hollow tree. In fact I didn't even see him hunt, though he was quite active and was flying around his usual hunting grounds. I'm hoping nothing sinister has happened to the female, and that she's on the nest incubating eggs. I'm hoping I missed a food pass from when I was at Lake Farm. Sadly I couldn't stay long today, but am planning on a full day there, with coffee flask and sandwiches, on one of my next days off work.

 

So not many photos from Cranford Park today. The ancient woodland is full of colour though. The bluebells have finally come out in force.

 

 

 

Cranford Park has a very different habitat to Lake Farm. The woodlands here are very old, some of the veteran trees date back to the 16th century. It's also managed differently to Lake Farm. There are more managed and larger grassy areas here, but still some small pockets of long grasses and shrubby bushes. This makes it ideal for dog walkers and kids to run free, and not really disturb any wildlife. The site is also very popular with model plane enthusiasts. You often see model aeroplanes flying around, with the real planes coming in to the Heathrow runways in the back ground.

 

The view below is from one of my favourite logs. It's just on the edge of the really ancient part of the woods, but not as enclosed. Part of the old ha-ha is to the right.

 

 

So I've had a lovely day out, but probably walked more than I should have. My feet are soaking in a bowl of water and I've poured myself a nice cold glass of Jacques fruity cider. I've caught the sun, my freckles are all out, and I've got a nice tan line on the back of my neck from where I was wearing my bins today. But the pain will all be worth it. Being surrounded on all sides by calling, singing and displaying Whitethroats was quite magical. Cant wait for my next days off work. 

Little Grebe love-fest, butterflies and Hobbys at the London Wetland Centre

 

A pleasant warm day, with a little cloud and very light winds, saw me off to the London Wetland centre today. I met up with Gina there, and of course bumped into the usual suspects, Phillip, Martin and Joe. Gina and I both had target birds today. Mine was getting a photo of a Common Tern 'hovering', Gina's was to find warblers. My target didn't happen today. I had great views of a tern whilst I was chatting with Joe outside the centre, but I was so sure I would see them again during the day, that I didn't bother trying to photograph them. Fatal mistake. Not once for the rest of the day did we see any Common Terns, except for a solo bird on one of the rafts.

 

However we did have semi-success with the warblers. We heard Reed, Cettis and Sedge, but they were very stubborn and hardly showed at all, except for a brief 'pop up' then back down into the reeds. There were several singing Blackcaps, again not easily seen, but that song is unmistakable. Another 'call' however, made Gina and I stop suddenly quite a few times. It was definitely a warbler, but was softer than a Cettis, not as raspy as a Sedge, and not as repetitive as a Reed. We spied the bird through the shrubby hedges around the Lagoon Walk several times. We compared the song on Ginas iphone app. And finally we got to see the bird out in the open. I managed to grab a few focused photos before the bird darted back into the under growth. We are 99% sure this was a Garden Warbler. Photos are further on down my blog. Phillip and Joe confirmed they had also heard one earlier, and when I showed them my photos, they also think it was a Garden. So from seeing no Gardens at all last year, this year I've managed to not only see two, but to capture them on 'film' too.

 

Other high-lights today were watching a Hobby being mobbed by gulls, Lapwing chicks, a Holly Blue laying eggs, a Jackdaw collecting nesting material, lots of House and Sand Martins 'chattering' above us and of course, a pair of Little Grebes doing what comes naturally, having a thorough and lengthy courtship. More about that further down my blog.

 

Holly Blue egg laying

Green Veined White

Speckled Wood

Garden Warb. Photo one

Garden Warb. Photo two

Garden Warb. Photo three

Hobby and gulls

Hobby and gull

Jackdaw

Lapwing and chicks. Not a great photo as they were some distance away. However you can just about make out one of the chicks burying itself under 'mum'. There were four youngsters seen today.

Three of the four Lapwing chicks.

The Little Grebes really were the high-light of my day. Just before the Wildside Hide are a couple of channels. Gina and I were making our way to the hide, when I spotted one of the Little Grebes. It was so close to the bridge that I almost fell into Gina as she walked behind me as I instinctively stepped back before I could disturb it. It was sitting on a muddy 'platform', which was obviously the beginnings of a possible nest. But it was way too close to the bridge, and not far enough into the reeds. We watched them for a while. The female kept 'presenting' herself to the male, and they very briefly mated. Then they both went to a second 'platform' a bit further up the channel, but still quite close to the bridge. There again, the female acted in a submissive fashion (head low down, and back end up higher) every time the male bought material, ie bits of reeds and muddy plantation, to the 'platform'. Mr Little Grebe didn't seem that keen on mating with her again, and constantly ignored her behaviour. Both 'platforms' were just a couple of inches above the water line, so certainly not proper nests. We left them to it shortly after that, and after Gina went home, I went back to see them. Phillip and Joe were there at this stage. The Little Grebes had moved from one side of the bridge to the other, and much further down the channel. A much safer option as far as I was concerned. They were adding material to a third 'platform', and the female was still 'presenting' herself every time the male bought in another beak full of muddy reeds. Quietly Phillip, Joe and I urged on the male to take notice of the submissive female, and eventually after almost an hour of watching them build up their relationship, the male finally joined the female for a lengthy 'love-fest'.

 

I felt incredibly privileged to witness such a court ship like this. I've seen Great Crested Grebes do their 'weed' dance, but I've never seen Little Grebes act this way. It was a truly great way to end my day at the Wetland Centre.

 

 

adding to 'platform' three....

female in submissive posture, while the male behind her is more interested in picking off a few bits of reeds

finally he takes notice of her behaviour........

and that's how Little Grebes are made :)

Little Owls and sunshine at Kensington Gardens, London

Today was one of those impromptu days, where I hadn't really decided what I was going to do, but was glad I did what I did. I'd been wanting to get back to Kensington Gardens since I'd heard the Tawny Owls and their owlets had been seen. The Little Owl was also apparently showing more and more. So once I'd woken up this morning and checked the weather forecast, I headed off there. I set myself three target birds to photograph today - Tawny Owl, Little Owl and Treecreeper  - and I got two of them. The one that failed me was the Tawny owl. I did see one of the adults, but it was so buried in foliage that none of my photos came out.

 

As most of my birdy friends know, the Treecreeper has become my 'bogey' bird so far this year. I've not seen one, let alone be able to photograph one. Today while I was sitting on a bench taking a phone call, one flew straight on to the tree in front of me. Ending my call as quick as I could, I then had to get my camera focused on the rapidly climbing bird. So the result was one photograph in focus taken half way up a tree ! But at last I've seen one. The next 'bogey' bird on my list is the Bullfinch.

 

The Little Owl was the bird that made my day worth while today, especially as I fell over twice and have hurt my ankle and knee again (and broken the hood on my camera lens). I was very close to giving up and going home after my second fall, but then the male Little Owl popped out, and persuaded me to stay.

 

My mate, Gina, came down to join me and we had a very pleasant afternoon slowly strolling around the park, and par-taking in a glorious more-ish large Bloody Mary by the water.

 

Other birds of note seen today, were lots and lots of Great Crested Grebes. I spotted at least three nests with birds on, but also spotted at least eight other birds, sometimes grouped together, sometimes chasing each other, and sometimes doing a bit of practise 'dancing'.

 

We also saw Mistle Thrushes, Blackcaps, mating Greylag geese, a couple of mixed hybrid ducks and geese, large numbers of Mute Swans and Egyptian Geese, the usual garden birds and Ring-Necked marmites, our first fledged Blackbird and, of course, good numbers of Jays.

 

Kensington Gardens has to be one of the best places to see and photograph Jays. They are so used to humans, that they allow you to get very close. If you have peanuts or pine nuts to give them, all the better. Great and Blue Tits will take food from your hands here too.

 

So despite being in pain for the majority of the day, it turned out to be a good un-planned one.

 

watching me watching you. Little Owl - this is probably the male, the female was seen twice with him but very briefly. At this time of year she will either be still incubating or will be staying with her chicks.

sleep Little Owl

yawning Little Owl

watchful Little Owl

My first ever photo of a Treecreeper. I aim to get a better one than this, but it will do for now.

One of several Great Crested Grebes seen today

Jay watching Gina throwing down some pine nuts for it

Mistle Thrush

Get a room ! Mating Greylag geese

Mr Greylag after mating

Hybrid x Mallard

Hybrid X Canada Goose

 

Every day I faithfully read Ralph Hancocks blog, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park Birds. His knowledge of the parks is second to none, and he has been visiting the parks for decades. He is the only 'blogger' I know that does a daily blog, so it's invaluable if you want to know where a certain bird has been seen within the past 24 hours. The link to his blog is below......

 

link to Ralph Hancock's blog....