The new hide at Maple Lodge NR

I was invited to the opening of the new hide at Maple Lodge NR today. No photos of the good turn out as I only had my zoom lens, but I'm sure there will be photos posted by others on their Facebook page (link here). Maple Lodge NR also has it's own web page full of facts and the history of the reserve plus the extensive list of birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, butterflies etc seen at the reserve (link here)

 

But here are some photos of the new Mike Foulkes Hide that I managed to get after the opening. Mike Foulkes was the first chairman of the reserve and it was a pleasure to meet his widow and family today.

 

The old hide had very narrow steep steps but this one is very comfortable with very good views over the reserve and the newly refurbished pond at the front of the hide. There are two levels seating at least 4-6 people each very nicely.

 

 

 

The weather was pretty dreary today but that doesn't matter at Maple Lodge NR as there are plenty of hides to shelter in.

 

There was a Great Spotted Woodpecker from the Clubhouse Hide....

 

 

and a very showy male Green Woodpecker from the Rotunda Hide....

 

 

As to be expected at this time of year there were good numbers of ducks on site, with Shoveller, Gadwall, Mallard and one of my favourites, the delicate small colourful Teal...

 

 

I also saw my first Wigeon of the year from the comfort of the Lynsters Hide....

 

From the same hide some Greylag geese were grabbing forty winks....

 

The clouds may have been downcast and the sky very grey but there was the odd welcome splash of colour with some late blooming flowers....

 

and spider webs always look good after a damp grey mist....

 

Of course the Black-headed Gulls don't care what the weather is like.....

 

There were a good mix of ages amongst the BH Gulls, note the juvenile on the left in the photo above with the smattering of brown feathers still on his bike. Also viewable but a bit distant for any photos was an adult still in summer plumage with a full chocolate brown head.

 

I missed a great photo opportunity today though. As I was walking away from the Lynsters Hide I could hear the familiar sound of a Buzzard or Red Kite 'mewing'. It sounded quite near so I made my way to the Barn Owl meadow and watched the skies overhead. In to view came a lovely calling Red Kite which then circled around me before unbelievably landing on the field right in front of the Lynsters Hide !! The hide I had just left ! It stayed just long enough to attract the attention of a couple of crows who then mobbed the bird until it took off.

 

If only I had stayed in the hide for a few minutes more !!

 

Against the grey sky and in the drizzly rain my flight shots of the Kite look dreadful but they will do for a 'record' shot for todays blog....

 

Another successful and enjoyable visit to my second favourite place and to see the usual regulars there.  Maybe my next visit will be on a better weather day.

 

 

 

Overdue visit to Maple Lodge NR

I woke up this morning and decided on a whim to visit Maple Lodge NR, a very overdue visit. This is my second favourite place to go, and you can see why if you have a look at their website (link here)

 

The light this morning was incredible. I spent over an hour in the Clubhouse Hide with a cup of coffee watching the comings and goings.....

 

One of the Kingfishers perched for a brief couple of minutes....

 

 

A pair of Shovellers looked almost luminous in the morning light....

 

 

The resident Robin sat perched on the same twig several times...

 

And there were the usual squabbles over the feeders.....

 

 

Even the common Grey Squirrel made a photogenic subject....

 

 

Sadly the fine weather didn't last and once the cloud came over, so the temperature dropped.

 

By the side of the Teal Hide there was an abandoned Coots' egg with a tiny beetle on it that I'm not going to even attempt to identify....

 

I saw three Red Kites and two Common Buzzards go over the hide, all within minutes of each other. Of course the cloudy sky did not help with my photo....

 

The Long Hedge Hide gave up lots of Black Headed gulls, many Shoveller, several Gadwall and Teal and two Little Grebes.....

 

Several times during my visit I encountered a Sparrowhawk. First of all it flushed out at least five Siskin and a few Goldfinch by Comma Corner. The next time I saw it was when I was chatting to Roger by the Owl Meadow and we watched it fly away over towards the farm. Then I saw another whilst trying to locate the calling Cettis Warbler by the Shell Hide. Lastly I was walking towards the Lynsters Hide and had just stepped over the bent tree, when I noticed feathers on the ground, looked up and there it was mantled over a freshly killed Wood Pigeon. Unfortunately it spotted me before I had a chance to lift my camera and took off. Knowing how these birds of prey often go back to their kill, I lingered in the hide for a few minutes before tip toeing out, but again the bird saw me before I saw it and flew off.

 

The light at the Lynsters Hide was really bad by this time, and all of the birds on the lake were just silhouettes. I lost count of the number of Coot and Canada Geese, but counted six Egyptian Geese, three juvenile Mute Swans, three Great Crested Grebes and a distant Little Egret.

 

 

Back at the Clubhouse on my way out I had another look out and spotted the cat that keeps showing up. Instead of going for any birds, this time he tried his luck with a squirrel but failed dismally. I know it's a 'he' as after he missed his prey he strutted around spaying every where. Somewhere nearby is one irresponsible owner, that not only doesn't put a collar and bell on the cat, but hasn't even had it neutered.

 

It was a great visit though. I love the privacy of this reserve and all that it has to offer. Hopefully next time the weather will stay finer and I'll be able to stay longer.....

 

 

 

 

 

Mindless vandalism, Grey Wagtails and more from Cranford Park

I was at Cranford Park for a very short visit on Wednesday (yesterday) and spent most of my visit sitting on the log by the new pond.

 

The pond Robin seems to be quite used to visitors and popped out a few times to see what I was up to....

 

 

and it was really lovely to see our first pond plant in flower. I'm pretty sure this is Marsh Marigold but happy to be corrected.....

 

However within minutes of arriving for my visit this morning (Thursday) I could have cried. Some mindless idiots have not only pulled up the notice put up by the Green Spaces team, thrown the posts in to the pond but also thrown all of the logs in to the pond....

including the one I was sitting on yesterday....

 

Heaven knows what satisfaction they achieved from doing that !! But I know it's going to make a lot of us quite fed up. Many of the volunteers gave up their spare time to help make this pond. Dragena and her team from the council spent hours on this project. Money was invested in it. Time was spent planning it. And for what ? So a few idiotic kids who were obviously dragged up to have no respect, just ruin it in a short time. And yes, I did say kids because we know they were seen trying to remove the sign before being challenged by two dog walkers. Sadly they obviously came back to finish off the job !

 

I hope their parents are really proud of the job they have done in raising children that have absolutely no respect for anyone and who find enjoyment in ruining things for others.

 

Hopefully there will be no long term damage (eg the liner being torn or ripped) but we might have to wait a few days to see if the water level goes down. Extracting the logs from the pond now might make things worse, going in to the pond and trying to move waterlogged lumps of tree is not going to be easy and might even damage the liner even more.

 

Below is the only vandalism I tolerate at Cranford Park.......

a Mallard dragging vegetation down to eat !!!

 

Todays visit was obviously soured by the state of the pond, but there was still a lot to see.

The Kingfishers on the river teased me in their usual way......flying up and down and perching, but always out of camera range. The Grey Wagtails (I am certain there are two now) were much more obliging as always. There was one by the stable blocks again (but no photos) and another on the river with great views from the stone bridge........

 

 

Despite it being almost mid-October, the morning was mild and bathed in sunshine for nearly all of my visit. This meant there were quite a few critters around.

 

The Garden Spider below caught a nice fat juicy fly and swiftly killed it and wrapped it in silk...

 

 

There were several Common Darters flying around and even some Hawkers including this Southern Hawker below. Dreadful out of focus photo but nice to see it perched for a few seconds.....

 

I completed my last UKBMS butterfly transect of the season with a very short tally

 

Eight butterflies / two species

6 x Red Admiral

2 x Speckled Wood

Red Admiral

 I have been seeing the lovely autumn Ivy Mining Bee (Colletes hederae) for the last few weeks, but no photographs until today, and even this is purely a record shot.......

 

 

The Ivy Mining Bee was recorded as new to Britain in 2001 when a bloke called Ian Cross discovered specimens at Langton Matravers in Dorset. Since then, the bee has spread across much of southern England (as far north as Shropshire, Staffordshire & Norfolk) and into south Wales. It is now extremely plentiful in some coastal localities, and increasingly, inland. Peak activity matches the flowering period of its key pollen forage plant, Ivy (Hedera helix), and the species is on the wing from early September until early November. This makes it the last solitary bee species to emerge each year. This is the third year I have found them at Cranford CP.

 

Surprisingly I also found two species of Ladybird this morning...

 

7-spot ladybird

Orange ladybird

The mild weather also bought out some hoverflies. I found three species today. ID's under each picture.....

 

Eristalis sp.

the huge Volucella zonaria

Helophilus pendulus

As always at Cranford Park there was the usual sighting of a Common Buzzard. This one was photographed against the sun so creating its unmistakable silhouette.....

 

 

I spent some time sitting under the huge Yew in St Dunstans. I was hoping for Redwing sightings, one of our winter thrushes, but had to make do with a Grey Squirrel pretending to be an ornamental statue......

 

 

My last photo below is very out of focus but it's the comparison between the leaves and the bird that I wanted people to see. This is one of many many Goldcrests that are making their way around the park this season. The Goldcrest is the UKs smallest bird and weighs roughly the same as a 20p piece. The out of focus bird below is photographed next to holly leaves. That is how small it is. Literally the size of a standard holly leaf.....

 

So not my usual 'bouncy' 'happy' 'carefree' blog post today. I cannot deny that the pond being vandalised has really angered and upset me. I only hope that once Dragena and her team survey the damage, that we find none of it is permanent.