Displaying Lapwings and some pond life at the London Wetland Centre

I really should have checked the LWC website before heading there today. I'd completely forgotten it was the school holidays and the place was packed with families. However, it wasn't too bad once you got your head around all the children running around, all the loud chatter and the constant rolling of pushchair wheels across the bridges.

 

On the island in front of the café, a pair of Canada Geese have made a nest and already laid eggs. As I went past the female got up, covered all the eggs up with whatever that fluffy stuff is, and joined her mate for a bath.

 

 

The Wader Scrape hide was lovely and quiet, in fact for an hour this morning, there was just me and this obliging Redshank.

 

 

 

 

Oh and this Robin who was busily gathering lots of food then flying off,  returning minutes later to do it all again.

 

 

From the Peacock Tower, I was busy watching the Sand Martins gathering nesting material off the islands and idly wandering if my little 300mm zoom lens would be able to photograph them, when a Yellow Wagtail landed in front of me. My little lens struggled to pick him out amongst the scrub, but I managed two passable photos plus a rather blurred comparison shot of the bright little Waggy next to a Lapwing.

 

 

 

 

Near the Wildlife Garden I found my first Water Vole of the year. Sadly I couldn't get the right angle for a decent photo, and with all the children running over the bridge, Mr Ratty didn't hang around for long.

 

 

Over in the Wildside one of the resident Little Grebes was showing well.

 

 

and I watched an adult Moorhen feeding one of its offspring.

 

 

In the Berwick Swan enclosure, I found this unusually coloured teenage Moorhen. It's siblings were all black, but this one was very much paler.

 

 

I also managed to grab a photo of this little Mallard duckling.

 

 

The resident café lingering Jackdaws were happy to pose no matter how noisy the outside seating area was.

 

 

In the afternoon I headed back to the Wader Scrape hide. Earlier this morning I had seen behind some reeds, a male Lapwing displaying to a female. I was hoping he might have moved nearer the hide so I could observe the behaviour in a bit more detail. And he had.

 

The male was right in front of the hide on the first island. As I watched he started to crouch down.......

 

 

and got lower......

 

 

and lower.....

 

 

and lower thrusting his tail right up.....

 

 

After that he would acrobatically fly towards the female, swooping low over the water, then up high, sometimes almost upside down, before landing very un-gentlemanly like, on the back of the female. I watched the same sequence of events several times, always beginning with the male lowering himself into the ground and ending with him puffing his chest out towards the female after the copulation. Occasionally the female wasn't receptive enough and the male sort of fell off her back.

 

 

 

 

If I had seen a Lapwing doing the 'ground shuffle' without then witnessing both birds mating, I would have guessed it was a female making a nesting scrape, so it was lovely to watch the full ritual today and know it's the male that appears to make the scrape and not the female. After spoiling me for an hour right in front of the hide, the male then decided to resume his courtship behind the reeds again.

 

I was seriously thinking of heading home shortly after that. The centre was getting busier and busier, but I received a text from Audrey who was volunteering there today. Audrey is the lovely missus of my fellow 'Cranford Birder' pal, Tony. She asked if I was going to stay for the afternoon pond dipping session, so as the weather was good, I said yes.

 

It was actually very interesting. The four staff running the session, including our Audrey, were very knowledgeable, and so after letting the kids do all the hard work of pond dipping and emptying their nets into trays and little jars for further investigation, all I had to do was wander around taking photos.

 

Ashamedly I cannot remember what this one is !!!!! Help me Audrey 

Caddis Fly larva, carrying its own 'nest' of tiny broken twigs. Some of the others we saw today were carrying green 'casings' made up of bits of reed.

Water Boatman. Fascinating little critter that spends most of its time deep under water, only coming to the surface to get air. When they do that they swim upside down, eventually resting on the water surface with only its rear end breaking the surface and gathering air in the form of a bubble. This photo was taken of one in a jar, that was closely examined by all before being released back to its pond.

Pond Skater. A surprisingly aggressive little critter. They are able to 'float' on the water surface as well as being great fliers, and great jumpers. They detect their prey when a fly drops on to the water surface and causes a mini water ripple. The Pond Skater then scoots across, bites the fly and sucks out all the juicy bits.

The kids also found two newts, and I got to see them but sadly couldn't photograph them.

There's an adults pond dipping session at the LWC in June that's starting to appeal to me.

 

So overall not a bad day at Barnes. Although it was fairly sunny all day, it was quite windy at times, so no butterfly photos today as they just weren't settling long enough. Butterflies seen were Peacock, Speckled Wood, Green-veined White and my two 'bogey' Flutters, the elusive Brimstone and the Orange-tip.

Bee-fly bonanza, and other critters, at Cranford Park

After yesterdays cloudy weather, today the blue sky reigned. It was a glorious day with some gentle gusts of wind.

 

I was actually planning on staying home and resting my shoulder, but Tony was on site early and texted me that the Wrens nest was still being visited by an individual. Not only that, but the Wren was seen to bring in feathers. This is a really encouraging sign for our little nest. The male Wren builds several nests out of old leaves and moss, but its the female that lines the nest with feathers once she has chosen to call it her home for the next few weeks. Maybe the bird I saw yesterday at the nest was indeed a female. So I took some painkillers and headed down to the park.

 

Also after Sues exciting discovery of one of the Little Owls on a tree that I'd always suspected was their nesting tree, I really wanted to see if there were any more signs or sightings. Unfortunately some young men were playing cricket right by the tree, and I didn't hold out much hope on seeing anything there today.

 

So my second nest site to visit after I arrived, was our newly found Great Spotted Woodpecker. Sure enough the male was drumming on a branch near to the hole. I didn't see him go back into the hole but Tony witnessed him excavating sawdust again, and later in the afternoon I saw both Mr and Mrs GSW on another branch on the same tree. Couldn't get any photos of that, but did get one of Mr GSW sunning himself this morning.

 

 

I met up with Tony and we had a quick walk around the Wrens and Green Woodpeckers nest sites. I re-visited the Wren nest several times during the day, but saw no action at all. Earlier in the morning Tony had watched a pair of Marmite Parakeets at the Green Woodpeckers nest hole entrance. One of them had sawdust on its beak, so it looks as if they've had a go at enlarging the hole, and maybe thinking of using it for their own nest. Luckily when we both went to check on the nest, Mr Green was back inside the hole, and regularly throwing out beak loads of sawdust. Late yesterday afternoon, Sue had also seen the Parakeets around the nest hole. So it looks like Mr Green has a problem on his hands and a battle to fight. The Battle of the Green Birds. No photos from me on either the Wrens or Green Woodpeckers nest sites today. As I said, I didn't see the Wrens, and I only saw Mr Greens beak, and I've already posted one bad photo of that on yesterdays blog.

 

Also no visible signs of the Kestrels, but I did hear them calling mid-afternoon and got a brief glimpse through the tree tops of a Kestrel mobbing a Buzzard. I'm hoping the lack of sightings is good news and that it means Mrs Kes is now on eggs. But these wonderful birds of prey have fooled me before, and may just prove me wrong. On April 19th last year, both the male and female were still being seen regularly, but that year we had a very cold and delayed winter, so a lot of Kestrels up and down the country nested later in the spring. This year its been relatively mild.

 

And no sign of the Stock Doves at their hollow again. Mrs SD could be inside on eggs, but despite checking on their tree regularly I found no sign of Mr SD.

 

Around midday Tony decided to head home. I was just heading back to the GSW nest when I spotted something perched in one of the tallest trees in the woods. A stonking large female Sparrowhawk. A quick phone call to Tony and luckily he was still in the car park and trotted on back. This may not be a big deal to some, but to us 'Cranford Birders' it is. To our knowledge the Sprawks are usually seen further down the North Meadow and wetland area near Cranford Lane, and not usually within Cranford Woods. Yet I've seen the female in the same area several times over the last week, and saw a male in the woods on the 26th February this year. So being as how I know very little about Sprawks, I had a 'google'. Some fascinating facts about them in this link RSPB guide to breeding Sparrowhawks. They can control their egg laying to coincide with when small birds have fledged, therefore ensuring a guaranteed easy meal. Plus each sighting I have had, has been quite close to the Kestrels supposed nest tree. As neither bird is really a threat to each other, I guess its a case of safety in raptor neighbours.

 

Not the greatest photo, but certainly the best view I've had of the female so far.

Elsewhere in the woods, more male Blackcaps were singing their hearts out. Managed to grab a couple of photos of two of them.

 

 

 

By the Wren nest site, a Chiffchaff has been regularly seen by all three of us, and today it didn't fail me.

 

 

After last Aprils sighting of the male Pied Flycatcher around the Headland area, Sue, Tony and myself have been regularly checking out this corner all of this month. No signs of the beautiful little migrant again, but if you want to see Buzzards, this seems to be the best place to see them clearly. Behind this area is a crop field with a large copse in the middle. Its off bounds and surrounded by barbed fencing, and from the entrance by the M4 bridge in Harlington, there's a sign saying Police dogs are often trained in the field. So its not a place any of us have tried investigating before. However all of our Buzzard sightings have confirmed the birds drift in from this area, do a short soaring circuit around the woods and then drift back. Today I was sitting on a bench near to that corner, when I heard the unmistakable 'mew' call of a Buzzard. Not one, not two, not three and not even four, but five Buzzards together soaring quite high. I couldn't get all five in one shot, but I did manage three.....

 

 

and just as I sat down again, another solitary Buzzard came over very low down.....

 

 

As the weather was so good today, there were plenty of insects around. Yesterday I posted photos of the Common Carder and Buff-tailed Bumblebees, so today was the turn of the Large Bee-fly (bombylius major). Everywhere I went I found these lovely little critters. So for two fascinating facts about them........females drop their eggs in flight and larvae develop as parasites within other bee and wasps nests.

 

 

 

 

And lastly, todays butterfly count. Eight species seen in all, but only six photographed. The elusive Brimstone yet again evaded me though I saw several flying around, and male Orange Tips were abundant but again no photos of either them nor the females.

 

Comma

Small Tortoiseshell

Speckled Wood

Peacock

Holly Blue

another Holly Blue

my first Green-veined White of the year

and another Green-veined White

So another great day at the park and more to observe and learn about.

Community patch birding at Cranford Park, with two pleasant new surprises.

After 48 hours of work and over 12 hours of commuting over the last four days, today I was back to revel in the bird song and greenery at my favourite patch, Cranford Park.

 And it really is getting greener.

My last visit was Monday and already nettle patches are a few inches higher than then and more leaves are unfurling in the trees.

 

First port of call was the Wren nest. After a patient wait of around forty minutes but being entertained by the Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, I was rewarded with a Wren investigating the nest. The nest itself has changed shape. It seems to have dropped quite a bit on the bottom left hand side. Is this because there's a female inside on eggs ? Or am I just wishful thinking ? I was hoping that when I downloaded my photos, it would show the Wren with food in its beak, which would indicate to me that Mr Wren was bringing food to Mrs Wren who would be sitting on eggs inside. But sadly no. The Wren I saw this morning had no food in its beak, and after a brief look inside the nest, it flew off. So is this a female checking out the nest ? Only time (and a numb bum - the Wren watch point is a rather uncomfortable log) will tell.

 

 

As I said, the woods are getting greener, and judging by the growth of the bramble leaves by the nest entrance hole, it might be that I cant get any more photos after next week.

The Spring visitors are so vocal now. First of all we had the Chiffchaffs, with their distinctive call, then we had the Blackcaps with their delightful song (though I still reckon they sound like a Robin with a sore throat), so hopefully it won't be long now until we see and hear our first Whitethroats of the year.

 

Last week the Blackcaps were really obliging and popping up everywhere posing for a photo, but I was unsuccessful on photographing any Chiffchaffs. Today it was the opposite. I saw several Blackcaps but they were either high up or deep inside the scrubby bushes, but the Chiffchaffs were singing and calling out in the open. My three photos below are of three individual birds in various places within the woods.

 

 

 

 

My first pleasant surprise of the day was the discovery of a Great Spotted Woodpeckers nest hole. I'd been looking for signs of one for the last couple of weeks, then remembered that back in February I'd witnessed a male GSW pulling bark off one of the dead trees by the Ha-ha wall (link to my blog post 26th Feb 2014) so I went to check it out. My instincts were spot on. There was a male inside a hole and popping his head out every now and then to literally spit out sawdust. Did I get a photo ? Nope, and I blame Tony. I was just getting ready to grab a shot when Tony appeared around the corner. I beckoned him over quietly and as we had a quick whispered catch up on the other nest sites, a female GSW landed near to the new nest hole and the male flew out. Mrs GSW however stuck around and seemed to investigate the tree rather than her potential new nest hole.

 

Mrs GSW near to her potential new nest hole home for this season. She has a ring on her right leg, but despite zooming in on all of the photos I managed to take of her, I cannot read the ring numbers.

Tonys news was that our Green Woodpecker nest site was still active. He had seen the male excavating the nest hole again. He hadn't managed to see the Wrens but was going to go back there after I told him about my morning sighting. Neither of us had seen the Kestrels by this point. We parted company, with Tony heading to the river and me heading to the Greenys watch point, a more comfortable log than the Wrens.

 

At first I couldn't see Mr Green, and it wasn't until I saw cloud dusts of more sawdust did I realise he is now inside the nest hole (like Mr GSW). My viewing point from the log just showed Mr Greens beak every now and then along with a puff of expelled sawdust......

 

Very bad and much lightened photo of Mr Green from our usual log view point. The 'pointy' bit halfway down the photo is actually Mr Greens beak.

I took a chance and went around the path to where you can see the nest hole face on. On previous visits I'd been avoiding doing this as I didn't want to disturb Mr Green (he's camera shy from that angle), but after some careful shuffling and patiently pretending to be a tree, I finally managed to grab a quick photo of him popping out of the new nest hole.

 

 

Later on in the day I was walking up 'Chestnut Avenue' and saw him outside of the hole and looking around calling. Photo below heavily cropped and lightened, as I was much further away.

 

 

It wasn't just all about the birds today, the bees came in to it as well.

 I saw two varieties today and thanks to the enthusiasts on the Facebook page 'Insects of Britain and Northern Europe' and in particular Stephen and Scott, I can name my two sightings.

 

Common Carder Bee

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

As my day progressed, Tony texted me his updated sightings which included our resident male Kestrel perched near to the suspected nest tree and a Muntjac deer by the river.

 

I didn't see either of the Kestrels today but I did hear them twice, both times from the same area where the suspected nest tree is. From observing various UK webcams and getting updates on them from Facebook, its great news to announce a female Kestrel in Worcester laid her first egg this morning, over two weeks earlier than last year and probably due to our mild winter. As none of us saw our resident female today, maybe she too has already laid her first egg.

 

Regarding the title to today's blog (Community patch birding), as Tony was leaving the park today, Sue texted me to advise she was not far from arriving. Having the three of us passionate about the progress of our nest sites, and any other sightings around the park, means we continuously keep each other updated. We don't reveal the location of our nest sites to any strangers and we know how to keep watch on our nest sites from a suitable viewing point that doesn't disturb the birds.

 It's a joint effort, and I'm really pleased that it's proving productive. Cranford Park is a huge site and massively under-birded. Personally I love the ancient woods so much that I often neglect the other areas of the park that need to be screened.

Around this time last year a male Pied Flycatcher stopped over for a four day visit in the Headland area, and because I was so immersed in the progress of our CP Kestrels I wasn't aware of the Pied Fly until Alison, the  Countryside & Conservation Officer for Hillingdon Council, sent me an e-mail saying she had seen an unusual bird whilst leading a walk around the park (link to my blog post 19th April 2013) 

Having like-minded friends also watching the patch is rewarding and informative, as was proven later today by Sue texting me after I had left........

 

So on to todays butterfly sightings. Speckled Woods were abundant within Cranford Woods....

 

 

I found this Peacock on one of the ant hills by the Headland......

 

 

and Sue showed me where she had seen quite a few Small Tortoiseshells earlier in the week. Her previous observations were spot on and we found at least six of them nestled amongst the fast and ever growing nettle patch. My first of the year.

 

 

So on to my second pleasant new surprise, and sadly I wasn't there to observe it myself as I'd already left the site, but as Sue was walking around today she spotted one of our resident Little Owls on a tree that I'd been previously speculating was their nest tree. Little Owls tend to nest in the same tree year after year, but once the owlets have fledged the whole family moves on to a nearby copse.

 

For the last two years we have often seen both adult and juvenile Little Owls in the summer, amongst the circle of mature Oaks near to the Information Centre, but knowing the parents don't nest there, it has been a puzzle as to where the adults reside, and nest, for the rest of the year. Thanks to Sues observation today along with previous sightings by myself of the adult birds around the wood land area over the last two years, it looks like we may have finally found the owls nest tree.

 

And lastly, as both North Woods and Cranford Woods have such stunning carpets of both blue and white Bluebells at the moment, here are a couple of flower photos.