Stalking the stable block Kestrel at Cranford Park

 

Compared to last Saturday, today was very mild. But this also meant there wasn't so much to see at Cranford Park today.

 

There were plenty of Grey Squirrels about as always.....

 

 

The wild Clematis seeds around the fenced off cellar were looking at their best.....

 

In previous years I have attempted to grow these from seed, but failed dismally every time.

 

At the back of the park by the orchard and M4, there were signs that a Muntjac deer had been present. The recently frayed bark also indicates this was within the last couple of days. Muntjac often fray the bark of trees as part of their territory marking. But fraying also occurs to scrub off the old velvet on their small antlers and allow the new velvet to grow through. You can normally tell if a Muntjac has caused this damage as there will be droppings and track marks nearby, and the fraying will be about a metre off the ground....

 

 

In Cranford Woods the all alone Yellow Stagshorn was still present and still protected by the hollow of the trunk....

 

There was a colourful 'hoof' fungus too....

 

and a new spread of bracket fungi was by the path....

 

Bird-wise it was very quiet. Along the River Crane there were no signs of the Little Egret, Little Grebe, Kingfishers nor Grey Wagtails. There was also no sign of any Mallards or Moorhen.

This puzzled me for a while, until I realised the water was a weird 'mossy' shade of green. It looks as if the bottom has been stirred up and disturbed. Then I realised that all of the shopping trolleys that had been dumped in the river recently, had all gone. So therefore I can only conclude that there has been a clean up operation that has temporarily disturbed the birds.

But at least it's not quite the eye sore that it was.

 

In the woods there were plenty of both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers calling from high up in the tree tops. The 'marmite' Parakeets were making their usual racket, topped only by the noisy Jackdaws who are now appearing to pair up. Every now and then several Carrion Crow would take to the sky to chase away a passing Common Buzzard.

I could hear lots of Goldcrests but only saw two or three, and as always they stuck to the most shadowy parts of the evergreens therefore making photography impossible.

I had a bit more success with the Long-tailed Tits, but the only decent photo was of one flying down from a twig....

 

I was just starting to head home and was walking past the old burnt out Information Centre when I spotted this Kestrel perched in a tree.....

 

 

It was so intent in looking for prey, that I was able to creep quite close....

 

then it suddenly flew down and landed in the leaf litter that has accumulated by the stable block wall.....

 

It stood there for a few seconds before then flying up and settling on the back of the stable block, and it wasn't until I fired off the shot below, that I realised it had caught something......

 

 

As quickly but as quietly, as I could I crept under the arch leading to the back of the block, snuck up the side of the hedge, and managed to position myself behind the sign on the padlocked gate without the bird spotting me.....

 

 

The barred chestnut tail tells me this is a female. However there is a fair bit of grey on her head which indicates this is probably a young female, maybe one of last summers juveniles. The resident Cranford Park female has a brown head so I know its not her.

 

She was very intent on feeding which allowed me to shuffle about a bit to get the best view.....

 

 

I am pretty sure it is a mouse she caught and ate, as you can just see the remains of a tail in the above photos.

 

After swallowing her prey down almost whole, she glanced around a bit, down a bit of 'beaking' on the stone wall (ie cleaning her beak) and swallowed hard a few times.....

 

before flying off to one of the trees behind the church.......

 

It's not the first time I've seen a Kestrel hanging around the stable block. Last summer whilst the resident juvenile Kestrels practised their flying and hunting techniques in the open meadows, I spotted and heard a crying juvenile around the church and stable block which appeared to be fed by the same parents as the meadow young. Maybe this one is the 'runt' of the nest, the last one to hatch, and therefore still hanging around.

 

Obviously I will keep my eyes peeled on my next visit. It does seem to favour the back of the stable block, maybe because it's less likely to get disturbed there due to the padlocked gate. Anyone who knows me knows that the Kestrel is my favourite bird, so it was a very good end to my visit.

 

 

 

A frosty visit to Cranford Park

There was a hard cold frost on my mornings visit to Cranford Park, which made most things look quite magical......

 

 

Although the River Crane wasn't frozen over, the flooded area at the back of the river alongside the A312, was covered in a thin layer of ice.

I lingered there for some time in the hope a Water Rail would appear out in the open, but to no avail.....

 

Cranford Woods was probably the only part of the park that had escaped the white icy covering.....

 

By the M4 sluice on the River Crane I found an unusually marked male Mallard.....

 

 

This bird has a form of leucism.

Leucism is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin from being properly deposited on a bird’s feathers. As a result, the birds do not have the normal, classic plumage colors listed in bird ID books and instead the plumage have several color changes, including:

• White patches where the bird should not have any
• Paler overall plumage that looks faint, diluted or bleached
• Overall white plumage with little or no color discernable

It seemed happy enough though and was mixing with several normal plumaged male and female Mallards, but it will be interesting to see if it stays at Cranford Park.

 

The usual Little Egret that hangs around by the M4, was first found on the grassy patch behind the river....

 

 

and then re-found in one of the trees on the far bank.....

 

before eventually flying down to the river and hiding behind the sluice bars.....

 

After a lot of patience and hiding behind several tree trunks by myself, the Egret eventually appeared out in the open and gave me some lovely views......

 

Whilst I was waiting for it to brave the open, I noticed another bird hanging around the sluice.

A stunning Grey Wagtail......

 

 

This could either be a female or a winter plumage male. In summer the male generally has a black bib, but this fades in the winter. This bird could also be a first year juvenile. At time of writing I don't have my Collins Bird 'bible' to hand, so cannot say for certain.

Either way, it was a joy to watch this little beauty hunting for insects in the mud, and even better when it emerged from the shadows for some better photos....

 

 

No sign of either of the Kingfishers this morning, nor of the Little Grebe.

 

My next stop was St Dunstans churchyard. There's a bench under the huge old Yew by the gate, that I like to sit on. It's sheltered and I've found before that it appears to provide cover as the birds often feed on the ground just feet away. Today it proved handy to sit on and drink my flask of coffee whilst watching a 'marmite' Parakeet....

 

 

an inquisitive Robin.....

 

and a Wren investigating the bark of one of the ornamental trees....

 

and it was really nice to see the first snowdrops have started to emerge amongst the gravestones......

 

 

I had just finished my coffee and had turned slightly to my left to re-pack my rucksack when a largish bird flew down by the furthest bin......

 

 

A Green Woodpecker. A handsome male one with his red 'moustache'....

 

 

Despite the ground being mostly frozen, he had found a thawed out muddy patch that obviously contained plenty of ants for him to feed on.

And because I kept so still and quiet sitting under the Yew tree and partially in shade, he didn't spot me at all until someone walked through the church gate and flushed the bird to the nearest tree....

 

 

On the way in to Cranford Woods I counted seven Mistle Thrush in the mistletoe laden trees by the wooden bridge. They didn't seem to be enjoying each others company though, and there was a lot of chasing and calling going on.......

 

 

On the bridge itself, I found these very small orange blobs. I think, and its a 'big' think, that this might be coral fungus, but I could be wrong........

 

 

Elsewhere in the woods the cold snap hadn't deterred other fungi from fruiting.

The Jelly Ears below, which are normally soft and squidgy, were frozen solid.....

 

Only the one patch of Candlesnuff fungi remains on one of the log piles I watch.....

 

and this frozen beauty below is I think one of the Chanterelles........

 

The last remaining Golden Stagshorn appears only to have survived so long because it's fruited inside a trunk hollow...

 

So a very cold visit to the park, but certainly worth it for the close up views of the Little Egret, Grey Wagtail and Green Woodpecker.