Linnets, Herb Robert and two of my favourite dogs at Cranford Park today

Today I'm going to start and end my blog with photos of two of my favourite dogs that I see at Cranford Park.

This is Maureen's lovely dog, Perry, who adores carrot !! Once she's finished playing with her stick of carrot, she eats it.....

 

After a catch up with Maureen, Perry and Martin I was off to the wood circle to see the resident Robins. Still cant get a photo of both together, and there was a third Robin hovering about today, but I got the usual snap of one enjoying my raisins......

 

 

Sue and Jasper the bird-dog joined me at midday and we took a stroll all around the perimeter of the park. It was a weird weather day, not that warm, barely any sunshine, so we didn't spot any butterflies at all.

 

The model car enthusiasts were out again, as is becoming the regular Sunday occurrence. A few weeks ago it was just two guys with their noisy petrol run remote controlled cars. Today there were at least ten blokes with just as many cars. Cranford Park has acres of grass paths and areas to walk, but the model car enthusiasts seem intent on setting up their 'camp' (with chairs and picnic) right on the edge of the woods near the Headland area.

Several dog walkers I saw today were moaning about them. The cars are so noisy and leave the air full of smoke and petrol fumes.

I'm not sure yet how they are affecting the birds in our woods. At this time of year the Headland area should be rich with Common Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs singing their heads off declaring their territories after often flying thousands of miles from their winter grounds. Yesterday I saw all three species feeding in the flowering Blackthorn. Today Sue and I spotted just one Common Whitethroat further on up the scrub.

 

Soon the Hobbys will be returning to Cranford Woods. These are protected birds listed under schedule 1 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act of 1981, which states......

Birds and their young, for which it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb at, on or near an ‘active’ nest.

 

Obviously the park is a public space, therefore I cannot ask them to move, but if I think they are disturbing nesting birds I will be considering stronger action.......

 

 

As stated above, we didn't see any singing Common Whitethroat in the Headland area today. We saw one briefly on a tangle of brambles but it didn't stay perched long enough for a photo call. But a lovely singing male Linnet in the same bramble bush, stayed up long enough for a couple of photos.....

 

 

The Linnet is a small finch, which was highly sought after as a cage bird in the 19th century for its song. Males have chestnut backs and grey heads and during the breeding season they develop a pinkish-crimson crown and breast.

Linnets tend to form groups of up to 20 individuals during the breeding season, which lasts from mid-April to the beginning of August. Nests are built in dense hedges, scrub or thorny trees. A typical clutch consists of four to six eggs and two to three broods can be produced in a season. The female incubates the eggs for 11 to 13 days, after which both parents provide food for the chicks.

 

Further on up the path alongside the ditch a female Mallard suddenly landed in front of us....

 

and was shortly joined by a male that waddled out from the ditch.

As we got closer both ducks flew off.

 

All around the path way alongside the ditch and the River Crane we found several fresh Muntjac tracks......

 

 

Sue spotted a new freshly fruiting fungi, which I thought at first was an Oyster, but am waiting on clarification of my id......

 

 

After walking all the way back round to the wood circle and seeing absolutely no sign of the Little Egret, Kingfisher nor Mandarin ducks along the river, Sue took a very tired Jasper home and I stayed on at the park for a couple more hours.

 

We have at least three pairs of Mistle Thrush around the woods. There's a pair by the wood circle which I reported on yesterday, there's a pair by the apple orchard and there's a pair by the Oaks in front of the burnt out Information Centre. The two photos below are of the Oak pair.

 

Can you spot the one below ?

 

It is dead centre of the photo, sitting on the branch and shows just how well camouflaged these birds can be.

 

The Wrens nest found by Martin is still active. I couldn't get a photo of the bird near the nest but I managed a hastily grabbed shot of it out in the open......

 

 

Earlier in the day Sue and I checked the Buzzard nest, but it looked vacant and we neither saw nor heard any Buzzards. However whilst I was doing one final check for Whitethroats in the Headland area late afternoon, two Buzzards flew over low from the direction of the cereal field. One circled round and headed to the nest tree, the other flew off being mobbed by several unhappy Parakeets......

 

I quickly walked around to the nest tree and just caught a glimpse of one of the Buzzards going on to the nest. Hopefully this means they are really nesting and aren't just using the tree as a suitable roost.

 

A new spread of Herb Robert has emerged along one particular stretch of the woodland path. I first became aware of this plant a few years ago when one of the dog walkers casually mentioned that her elderly dog always ate one leaf when passing by this spread. He never touched any other plant in the woods, just one leaf of this one plant that only grows in one area.

It belongs to the geranium family and has powerful anti-oxidants and is rich in vitamins A,B and C. It is believed that the herb was probably named after the 11th century french Saint Robert who was the Abbot of Molerne and whose medical skills were legendary. Apparently when 'bruised' the leaves give off one of those smells that some people either love or hate.....

 

It's nearly May yet due to the chilly weather over the last week or so, I have barely seen any butterflies other than the Comma, Peacock and Small Tort. I had brief flying views of a Green-veined White and male Orange-tip yesterday, but nothing today. I couldn't even find a shield bug or hoverfly.

 

Bird wise we saw a solo Kestrel, a fly over Heron, a few Song Thrushes, the usual woodland Long-tailed, Great and Blue Tits, plenty of Blackbirds and Jays, lots of calling Ring-necked Marmites (aka Parakeets), several calling Chiffchaffs, a handful of Blackcaps, the one solitary quiet Common Whitethroat and some Chaffinches.

 

But to end todays blog, here is our bird-dog, the legendary Jasper mooching amongst the bluebells.

Now almost completely blind he still gave me a warm welcome this afternoon. Love him to bits.