A quick evening walk into the woods and out onto the Pit Tip at dusk produced very little. It was a bit late on really. Only the typical small birds were around in the woods, although I'm pretty sure I heard a Pheasant calling. As I climbed the path back up to Hanging Heath a Sparrowhawk flew out of the woods, heading in the direction of the Pit Tip.
As I was leaving the woods, a Song Thrush was singing in the tops of trees where I typically hear one. I managed some brief views before it flew away to the scrub at the edge of the Pit Tip. It was almost dusk and there was barely any activity, but before turning around to walk home, I picked up a Skylark ascending over the Pit Tip Grassland whilst I was watching some Carrion Crow go to roost. A couple of Carrion Crow in the trees were causing a commotion as I neared the woods on my way back. It was pretty dark, but I could just make out another on the ground flapping about. It looked as if it was in distress, and I watched it get lower and lower to the ground. Moving closer, I realized it was being pulled head first into a hole - probably by a local Fox. It appeared to be an adult, so I was quite surprised that it was taken by a Fox. Eventually it stopped flapping about, and all I could see was its tail poking out of the hole.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Shelducks at Dawn
I'd planned my only March trip to the Mill Lakes on the last weekend of March in order to take advantage of the early sunrise. Despite the the clocks going forwards at 1am on Sunday, that was my day of choice - mainly due to being busy with work on the Saturday! Dawn was around 6:20am, so I was up an hour earlier to get myself sorted and down to the Mill Lakes in good time.
Walking down there in the pitch black helped me get there quickly, because I couldn't really see anything on the walk down. A few roosting Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon in the trees behind Top Valley and Rise Park, but that's about it... no owls to be seen or heard! I arrived at the Mill Lakes just as dawn was breaking; if there was a dawn chorus, I couldn't hear it for the noise the geese were making. I could barely see anything on the lake except silhouettes, which made for some interesting ID challenges, because I don't recall having ever seen wildfowl on the water in silhouette before. I did make out what I thought were several Greylag Goose and Canada Goose, though.
As I walked around the lake the light began to improve, and by the time I got to the Peninsula I could start to make out some of the birds with better-contrasting plumage. Three ducks roosting in the water to the south of Mud Island caught my eye. The white markings they were showing was suggesting Shelduck to me, but despite seeing some previous reports of Shelduck here, I'd never recorded them myself. As the light improved I thought I had a small wader on the edge of Mud Island
- probably a Snipe, but I couldn't be sure. The light had improved enough for me to see the three Shelduck more clearly so I got the camera out and filmed them as they were starting to move away. In fact, they were moving toward me, allowing: better views, sexing of two males and a female, and some reasonably close footage. All three headed right past the end of the Peninsula and towards the southern end of the lake.
Pleased with the footage, I headed on towards the northern end, sighting two drake Teal by the near-side bank. I took a small detour onto the outer path to check out the adjacent field that was filling up with geese. There was a noticeable increase in numbers compared to what I typically see (i.e. one or two Greylag Goose and ten to twenty Canada Goose) and I don't usually see them in the field either. This morning there were around eight to ten Greylag Goose and thirty to forty Canada Goose, with many of the latter flying off to the north just after dawn. This included a small V-shaped skein numbering about ten, which passed low over my head as I reached the Double Gates.
Just beyond the bridge, on my way to the Leen Pastures, two Willow Tit were calling in the nearby trees and easily close enough to make out the pale wing panel - probably the best views I've had of them here. I opted for the route along the water's edge today, but it produced nothing but uprooted trees blocking the path. Coming out of the trees to the gate I met another birder that I'd not met previously. It turned out to be Norman's friend Ralph, whose local patch lists I'd seen on Surfbirds. He was restocking the feeding station and asked me to join him.
Whilst filling up the feeders, Ralph told me about what he'd seen around the area. He mentioned the owl boxes I'd recently seen from the Railway Line, and that Tawny Owl had bred in them over the past couple of years. Hopefully they'll do the same this year - I've yet to see one anywhere! He also showed me the second field, which held more water than the first. This field was apparently good for Snipe, and sure enough we flushed a couple. I caught sight of one flying off to the north, and Ralph had another less than a minute later. He also got a Green Woodpecker and single Cormorant flying over.
As we walked back to the lake discussing some of our notable sightings, Ralph pointed out a few Lesser Redpoll in the trees that overhang the path. He mentioned that he was meeting Norman and another birder Julie, who I'd not met before. Back at the lake, the Shelduck were long-gone, and Mud Island was looking pretty stark - not much cover for anything. We walked on to the Peninsula, seeing more Lesser Redpoll on the way. Julie arrived whilst we were on the Peninsula, and after introductions and a quick look around, Norman arrived as we walked back to the main path.
All the way down the eastern side of the lake produced small groups of Lesser Redpoll, with some very colourful males - possibly at the end of their moult. Another Cormorant was on the post by Tern Island and I spotted a Bullfinch at the top of the trees that mark the eastern edge of the site. In the middle of the Reedbed, a single male Reed Bunting was perched at the top of a small tree - my first for the year.
Leaving the Reedbed boardwalk, Julie spotted a Grey Wagtail (patch tick) under the bridge which flew off almost straight away. A few minutes later we relocated it in the reeds on the far bank showing well, but I'd mistakenly picked up another small bird hidden deeper in the cover of the reeds nearby. Ralph had it as a warbler and when it popped out to show itself, everyone agreed it was a Chiffchaff - two patch ticks within a minute! The dark eye stripe and pale super were clear, but the dark legs clinched it.
Chiffchaff [the greeny-yellow blob just left and below the centre!]
Before heading around the western side of the lake, two Grey Heron flew in from the SSE. The walk along the western side didn't produce anything of note, but the Heron nests were quite impressive to see, and it looked like there might have been an adult squatted down on one. Heading back up to the Leen Pastures produced another Willow Tit on the table of the feeding station, and I climbed the embankment to the Railway Line to see a Skylark descending on to the Golf Course. Walking back, Ralph left us at the bridge, and I left Julie and Norman at the main entrance to the Mill Lakes.
The next notable sightings weren't until I'd reached the feeding station by Alexandra Lodge where two Coal Tit were seen on the feeder, along with Blue Tit and Great Tit. I decided to stop at the rangers' office and enquire about the annual bird report that the others had been talking about. I was in luck, as Steve (the ranger who 's a birder and ringer that does the report) was in the office. He invited me in for a chat and I mentioned some of my sightings to him, which probably would have gone in the report had I known about it in time. Most notably:
Heading back through Big Wood didn't produce anything of note - it was late on and busy with joggers and dog walkers. A quick look for gulls and Pied Wagtail in the school was unsuccessful, but a flock of about ten Black-headed Gull were over the wood. Before heading home I had a quick look on the Pit Tip, which produced a singing Skylark and a wonderfully well-lit female Green Woodpecker. A great morning with 42 species recorded, 3 patch ticks, 1 year tick and some great company.
Walking down there in the pitch black helped me get there quickly, because I couldn't really see anything on the walk down. A few roosting Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon in the trees behind Top Valley and Rise Park, but that's about it... no owls to be seen or heard! I arrived at the Mill Lakes just as dawn was breaking; if there was a dawn chorus, I couldn't hear it for the noise the geese were making. I could barely see anything on the lake except silhouettes, which made for some interesting ID challenges, because I don't recall having ever seen wildfowl on the water in silhouette before. I did make out what I thought were several Greylag Goose and Canada Goose, though.
- probably a Snipe, but I couldn't be sure. The light had improved enough for me to see the three Shelduck more clearly so I got the camera out and filmed them as they were starting to move away. In fact, they were moving toward me, allowing: better views, sexing of two males and a female, and some reasonably close footage. All three headed right past the end of the Peninsula and towards the southern end of the lake.
Just beyond the bridge, on my way to the Leen Pastures, two Willow Tit were calling in the nearby trees and easily close enough to make out the pale wing panel - probably the best views I've had of them here. I opted for the route along the water's edge today, but it produced nothing but uprooted trees blocking the path. Coming out of the trees to the gate I met another birder that I'd not met previously. It turned out to be Norman's friend Ralph, whose local patch lists I'd seen on Surfbirds. He was restocking the feeding station and asked me to join him.
Whilst filling up the feeders, Ralph told me about what he'd seen around the area. He mentioned the owl boxes I'd recently seen from the Railway Line, and that Tawny Owl had bred in them over the past couple of years. Hopefully they'll do the same this year - I've yet to see one anywhere! He also showed me the second field, which held more water than the first. This field was apparently good for Snipe, and sure enough we flushed a couple. I caught sight of one flying off to the north, and Ralph had another less than a minute later. He also got a Green Woodpecker and single Cormorant flying over.
As we walked back to the lake discussing some of our notable sightings, Ralph pointed out a few Lesser Redpoll in the trees that overhang the path. He mentioned that he was meeting Norman and another birder Julie, who I'd not met before. Back at the lake, the Shelduck were long-gone, and Mud Island was looking pretty stark - not much cover for anything. We walked on to the Peninsula, seeing more Lesser Redpoll on the way. Julie arrived whilst we were on the Peninsula, and after introductions and a quick look around, Norman arrived as we walked back to the main path.
All the way down the eastern side of the lake produced small groups of Lesser Redpoll, with some very colourful males - possibly at the end of their moult. Another Cormorant was on the post by Tern Island and I spotted a Bullfinch at the top of the trees that mark the eastern edge of the site. In the middle of the Reedbed, a single male Reed Bunting was perched at the top of a small tree - my first for the year.
Leaving the Reedbed boardwalk, Julie spotted a Grey Wagtail (patch tick) under the bridge which flew off almost straight away. A few minutes later we relocated it in the reeds on the far bank showing well, but I'd mistakenly picked up another small bird hidden deeper in the cover of the reeds nearby. Ralph had it as a warbler and when it popped out to show itself, everyone agreed it was a Chiffchaff - two patch ticks within a minute! The dark eye stripe and pale super were clear, but the dark legs clinched it.
Chiffchaff [the greeny-yellow blob just left and below the centre!]
Before heading around the western side of the lake, two Grey Heron flew in from the SSE. The walk along the western side didn't produce anything of note, but the Heron nests were quite impressive to see, and it looked like there might have been an adult squatted down on one. Heading back up to the Leen Pastures produced another Willow Tit on the table of the feeding station, and I climbed the embankment to the Railway Line to see a Skylark descending on to the Golf Course. Walking back, Ralph left us at the bridge, and I left Julie and Norman at the main entrance to the Mill Lakes.
The next notable sightings weren't until I'd reached the feeding station by Alexandra Lodge where two Coal Tit were seen on the feeder, along with Blue Tit and Great Tit. I decided to stop at the rangers' office and enquire about the annual bird report that the others had been talking about. I was in luck, as Steve (the ranger who 's a birder and ringer that does the report) was in the office. He invited me in for a chat and I mentioned some of my sightings to him, which probably would have gone in the report had I known about it in time. Most notably:
- Peregrine at the Mill Lakes (no other records of Peregrine in 2006);
- Clouded Yellow (butterfly) at the Mill Lakes (not recorded at the Mill Lakes, at least in 2006);
- Weasel behind at the back of Bestwood Quarry (only a few records and they were elsewhere).
Heading back through Big Wood didn't produce anything of note - it was late on and busy with joggers and dog walkers. A quick look for gulls and Pied Wagtail in the school was unsuccessful, but a flock of about ten Black-headed Gull were over the wood. Before heading home I had a quick look on the Pit Tip, which produced a singing Skylark and a wonderfully well-lit female Green Woodpecker. A great morning with 42 species recorded, 3 patch ticks, 1 year tick and some great company.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
How to Identify a Distant Dark Blob
Another fine afternoon persuaded me to nip out for a short walk out to Lamin's Lane. Considering the time of day, there was quite a bit of activity, particularly around the Three Ponds. The first of note was a Treecreeper flitting between some of the larger tree trunks by the first pond. Two Great Spotted Woodpecker were also seen in the trees around here. Walking along the track towards Woodside Liveries a couple of Nuthatch were busy chasing each other, calling as they went.Along the Lamin's Lane track I heard and then found a Skylark singing high above the first field. I was keeping a lookout for any of the Buzzard, Partridge or even a Pheasant. The next field had been left fallow, and a quick scan turned up five Lapwing - probably where the ones I saw last week had flown up from. I watched them for a little while, mainly just sat in the field, but a couple of them took off and flew to nearby fields, calling as they went.
As I walked further down the track, I kept scanning the fields in the hope of Partridge or Pheasant. At the point where the track joins Lamin's Lane I caught sight of a movement near the hedgerow bordering the lane. A few seconds later a male Pheasant appeared (patch tick) and I grabbed the video camera, catching some footage before it disappeared through the hedge onto Lamin's Lane.Heading back I decided to take another look at the Lapwing and reaped the reward. One of the them had been stationary on one particular spot of the field since I'd first seen it. As I was watching it, something nearby caught my eye. What was essentially a dark blob on the far side of the field, had the distinct look of a brown wader. Studying this blob with the bins for a minute or so showed up some head movement, confirming it was, at least, a bird. Now I just had to identify this "dark blob". Using the fence to stabilize the bins I tried to pick out some details... it was brown and around the same size as the nearby Lapwing, although slightly smaller. So, it was a juvenile Lapwing-sized brown blob.
Lapwing and brown blob [view from video camera at 10x zoom]
It was hopeless... well it was until I had a better idea. I could get closer to it, by going around to the other side of the field... and risk getting shot at, as I trespass on the farmer's land... or at least ruin all chances of getting in the farmer's good books, thus throwing away any chance I might have of having a friendly conversation with a farmer in the future (who's obviously doing a lot to encourage and support the local bird life). Plan B... actually, this was the only real plan, but Plan A (and its mildly-amusing consequences) briefly crossed my mind.
So I tried to steady the bins as best I could whilst holding the video camera to them with one hand and focus them with the other. The combination of magnification (10x and 10x) can give good enough magnification for a long-distance ID, provided you can hold everything steady enough and get the focus right. The image quality is quite poor, so it's no good for capturing decent footage, only for the odd still frame you might be lucky enough to grab for a record shot. If the subject isn't stationary, there's little chance of capturing anything whilst out in the field.
Anyway, enough about the optics... did it work? Yes. I'd had my suspicions that the brown blob was a Golden Plover, and an hour or so later, having grabbed about 40 of the best frames in five-minutes' worth of footage, I'd confirmed it. I've only seen Golden Plover a couple of times in the UK so it's a nice patch tick for me (number 65) - much nicer than having Pheasant as my latest patch tick!The walk home produced a male Kestrel flying around the mast in almost exactly the same place as last week. The wing tips were rounded, so my first thought was Sparrowhawk, but a closer examination showed all the colours of a male Kestrel, with a lovely black-barred tail fanned out. Another great day on my patch courtesy of Lamin's Lane.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Walking Off the Sunday Lunch
After cooking an Italian Sunday lunch for the family and my parents, we all took a short walk around the Pit Tip Top. Considering all the noise we were making, it didn't turn out too badly bird-wise. There were plenty of Skylark in song over the Pit Tip, some of which were flushed by us. Two Jay were in the trees at the sparse end of the main Plantation area, and a single Cormorant flew over to the north west.
Walking back into the woods by the Rise Park entrance produced a female Green Woodpecker high up in one of the larger trees along Front Line. As we neared, it flew off towards the western edge of the main conservation area. Reaching the clearing that allowed us to see over Big Wood, showed a distant pair of Common Buzzard (patch year tick) soaring around the mast near Bestwood Quarry - I should really check that area out early in the morning. To finish off, a single Goldcrest was heard and then briefly seen flying from the yew trees by the entrance.
Walking back into the woods by the Rise Park entrance produced a female Green Woodpecker high up in one of the larger trees along Front Line. As we neared, it flew off towards the western edge of the main conservation area. Reaching the clearing that allowed us to see over Big Wood, showed a distant pair of Common Buzzard (patch year tick) soaring around the mast near Bestwood Quarry - I should really check that area out early in the morning. To finish off, a single Goldcrest was heard and then briefly seen flying from the yew trees by the entrance.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Lapwings from Lamin's Lane
After seeing a Common Buzzard flying over the woods in the morning, I decided to head out for a short afternoon walk with the hope of adding one to my patch year list. I set off over the Pit Tip hearing and seeing a few Skylark singing their hearts out, and flushed a couple too. I picked up on a Green Woodpecker hiding in the Pit Tip Plantation, then found two together on fence posts at the far side; both showing well in the good light [see right]. Before moving on, two large gulls flew over in the direction of the Mill Lakes, but all I could see were silhouettes.Heading over to the feeders in by Alexandra Lodge gave a brief view of a Sparrowhawk overhead, and at least one Jay could be heard screeching in the background. The Khalsa Wood had lots of activity. Two Nuthatch were seen collecting berries and pushing them into holes in a log on the ground, both showing well, tapping the trees quite loudly and feeding on the ground. The feeders were quite active with Blue Tit, Great Tit and Coal Tit and Chaffinch feeding on the ground. A single Song Thrush was seen feeding under a nearby bush.
I decided to head up to the Lamin's Lane area for the first time. The hedgerows were very active with Robin, Blue Tit and Great Tit, particularly. There were lots of nesting boxes around, which must have been provided by the local farmer. Small boxes are positioned at regular intervals all along one fence, and the field to the east has a couple of larger boxes, probably for owls. I walked up the lane a little way, scanning the fields for any signs of Pheasant, Partridge or Yellowhammer, but with no luck. In the distance a few Lapwing flew up from behind a hill in the field, giving me a long-awaited patch tick.
The Lapwing became the highlight of the day, as the return journey didn't produce much of note: a Kestrel in silhouette flying by the trees behind Woodside Liveries, a single Goldfinch, a Wren, and a Goldcrest in the tree just by my exit. No sign of the Common Buzzard... well, not until I was home, when within an hour one showed well for a few minutes flying over the woods towards the Pit Tip - typical!
I decided to head up to the Lamin's Lane area for the first time. The hedgerows were very active with Robin, Blue Tit and Great Tit, particularly. There were lots of nesting boxes around, which must have been provided by the local farmer. Small boxes are positioned at regular intervals all along one fence, and the field to the east has a couple of larger boxes, probably for owls. I walked up the lane a little way, scanning the fields for any signs of Pheasant, Partridge or Yellowhammer, but with no luck. In the distance a few Lapwing flew up from behind a hill in the field, giving me a long-awaited patch tick.
The Lapwing became the highlight of the day, as the return journey didn't produce much of note: a Kestrel in silhouette flying by the trees behind Woodside Liveries, a single Goldfinch, a Wren, and a Goldcrest in the tree just by my exit. No sign of the Common Buzzard... well, not until I was home, when within an hour one showed well for a few minutes flying over the woods towards the Pit Tip - typical!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)