When You Wait Ages for a Bus...

A dawn walk to the Mill Lakes proved very productive, adding seven patch ticks including three that I should have had a long while ago. Just after 5:30am, I set off over the Pit Tip, where I'd expected to be the only sole in sight, but to my surprise there were two dome tents pitched on the top... still nobody to be seen though - and barely any birds either. However, the Skylark were up before me, and at least three were singing away quite loudly. I got onto one of them before moving on to the far side of the Plantation and down the hill... nothing else but crows around at that time.

At the cut through to Dawson's Corner I could see the bridge was still down, but the stream was dry and nothing was stopping me from walking through or jumping over the ditch. As soon as I came out on the far side I was instantly drawn to one of the small shrubs which held my first Whitethroat - a singing male - showing very well and enabling me to get some footage for the record. Heading on towards the western entrance I picked up another singing male on the tall hedge at the far side. This time, not so obliging for footage. This area seems to be a great spot for warblers, so I'll try to make more of it in the summer. I think there's potential for some good footage on an early morning, with some patience.

At the Mill Lakes I headed to the Reedbed first. Scanning over the reeds produced nothing at first, but then some movement near one of the small trees in the middle caught my eye. Two Willow/Marsh Tit were flicking about between the reeds and the tree. They weren't around or still enough for me to determine the presence of any wing bar, but based on likelihood at the Mill Lakes I opted for probable Willow Tit, putting the apparently shiny black caps down to being breeding plumage.

Back out at the lake, two Grey Heron were flying around - I think being mobbed by a crow. A single Cormorant flew over to the north and I spent some time scanning the water. Very little seemed to be around today. I started to make my way around anti-clockwise when I bumped into Ralph. We walked back towards the Reedbed, stopping off to glimpse one of the Grey Heron nests, which held at least three young.

There was nothing to be seen at the Reedbed now, but heading over the Vehicle Bridge and up the far side, Ralph put me on to a male Reed Bunting on the far bank. We took the back route, it being apparently better for warblers, and this was proved correct. Aside from a pair of Jay, Ralph heard a Blackcap, and a few Chiffchaff were singing their name. At the north end of the lake two Lesser Black-backed Gull (another patch tick) flew over to the north.

I'd been telling Ralph about some of the "easy" patch birds, which had so far eluded me: Mistle Thrush, Pied Wagtail and Stock Dove. He'd seen the former already this morning, just before meeting me, on the grassy area between the Willow Carr and the Main Entrance near to where they're suspected to breed. We headed there to wait for the others and sure enough along comes a Mistle Thrush a few minutes later. After Norman and Julie arrived, we stood around chatting for a bit, which turned out well for me when a brightly-coloured male Yellowhammer landed in a nearby willow tree. We had some good views and, I got some good footage, before hearing that they were quite unusual for that area - so another nice patch tick for me.

On the way to the Leen Pastures I had a Song Thrush in a tree on the Railway Embankment by the first rail bridge and the others heard a singing male Blackcap near the inlet pipe, which appeared for me to patch tick it after a minute or so. Further up the ride we all got a single Barn Swallow, and two Jay were around (probably the same two seen earlier).

At the Leen Pastures, the feeders were empty and nothing was around, so I popped up to the Railway Line. After seeing very little, I was about to climb down when the others were coming up... Norman had heard a Lesser Whitethroat singing along the embankment, so we all went for a look. Despite hearing a few, none were positively seen. Julie had two Linnet that flushed out over the Golf Course, and I probably got onto one before it disappeared, but not well enough for a patch tick. Everyone put me onto a Stock Dove flying out over the Golf Course (and another one later, too), getting another "easy" tick for me, and a little later I finally got a Pied Wagtail too.

At the point the Railway Line crosses the Leen, Ralph and I spotted a male Kestrel sat on the bridge, which moved away as we approached, only for Ralph to relocate mating with a female on the TV ariel of a nearby house! Both birds were looking quite bulky to me and seemingly more impressive than usual.

It was getting quite late - at least for me - I'd been out for four hours, so I decided to head back. The others came too and Julie got a LBJ warbler at the side of the track - probably a Chiffchaff (we'd heard them around here earlier), but it'd disappeared before we got good views.

After departing from the group, I headed back along the side lane getting another Willow Tit and getting more Canada Goose and Greylag Goose in the adjacent field. Whilst walking through the paddock at Broadvalley Stables I got another Pied Wagtail (what do they say about waiting ages for a bus?) and a Goldfinch. In Big Wood I picked up a single Nuthatch just before Alexandra Lodge. I stopped by to drop off my payment for the bird report and mentioned the Whitethroats to Steve, but I didn't have time to stop and chat, and he looked busy anyway. On the final stretch I didn't stop to look for anything, but got a single Jay to finish the morning, and made it home before 10am for a late breakfast.

First Singing Warbler

This evening I had a quick walk along the side of the Pit Tip Top and almost immediately came across a warbler singing at the top of a tree. From the little I know of warblers, I presumed it was a Willow Warbler from its similarity to a Chiffchaff, but with pink/light coloured legs. However, capturing some footage and - more importantly - its song, helped to confirm this.

The rest of the walk was rather mundane, unless filming a Bat with the infra-red counts. A few Long-tailed Tit were in the trees where Farmer Fox's Cow Field meets Big Wood, and at least one Pheasant was heard calling (but not seen) from Parkside Pasture.

Last of the (Common) Crows

What seemed to be a really unproductive evening walk in the wood, produced two patch ticks, but nothing to get excited about. I'd planned to go out over the Pit Tip Top, but as I got close, I could hear some idiot on a motorbike, so I gave it a miss and headed down into the woods. A single Jay was close to the entrance again and, as I descended towards Shopping Trolley Pond, a group of four were flying over towards the Pit Tip Plantation. A little further down I caught a glimpse of a Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler, calling in the trees by the hand rail. I could make out the dark eye stripe, but its feet were hidden, so on call I put it as probable Chiffchaff. At least one Skylark was heard singing over the Pit Tip in the background.

The idiot on the motorbike seemed to be going along all the main pathways, thus ruining any chance I had of seeing much, but a long-awaited patch tick came in the form of a Jackdaw in the horse paddock. Several groups of between two and four were feeding throughout the field - seemingly on horse manure! I'm sure I've seen them around here previously, but have always overlooked them in the past. A Song Thrush was singing away at the entrance of the Khalsa Wood, but I didn't manage to see with it in the failing light.

Around Alexandra Lodge the crows were coming in to roost and making quite a bit of noise. My second patch tick was a Spring migrant that had left before I began birding here last year. I watched a single Barn Swallow circle the lodge three times in an attempt to catch its super. Heading back up the track around the newly-fenced Calluna Clearing I caught a brief glimpse of a large brown bird that flew low from a perching position, but it was too dark to make out what it was - possibly a Sparrowhawk. My first Bat of the year was seen just as I was leaving the park, but the only thing I know about Bats is that they're hard to identify, so I won't even begin to try! In all, I saw less than ten different species this evening, but my patch list has hit 70, so I'm not complaining.

Pheasants Everywhere!

This evening I took a late walk up to Lamin's Lane in the hope of an Owl. I've heard there's a Little Owl here and probably Tawny Owl too, if the three nest boxes are anything to go by. The area certainly seems right for them. As I entered the woods a Jay caught sight of me and flew down into Ted Heath, but conveniently landed on an open branch, allowing me a nice view - amazing colours, particularly at this time of year.

The woods were relatively quiet this evening, with nothing but the absolutely common birds to be seen, save for a Song Thrush in Big Wood School Field and another around the Three Ponds. At the start of Lamin's Lane, yet another Song Thrush was showcasing his varied vocals from the large tree that overhangs the main track. A Kestrel caught my eye, hovering over the back of Bestwood Quarry in search of supper, and two further sightings later were probably the same bird; with one over Lamin's Plantation [sic] and the other over towards Mansfield Road.

There was no activity around any of the three Owl boxes, but the number of Pheasant around made me feel a little ashamed it took me so long to patch tick them - they were everywhere! They were calling in one field, then in the next, running about through the hedges. Judging from the frequency and location of the calls and sightings I'd say there had to have been 10-20, in all. One male was parading a group of three females in the fallow field, another two males were "fighting" it out in the plantation, and at dusk one was on top of a large heap of manure calling for some female attention.

I saw one bird that I failed to identify, which flew low over the edge of the fallow field after a nearby gunshot. Using the hedge as cover, it then lifted up over the hedge at the far side. The bird looked greyish brown in the fading light, it was roughly Lapwing-sized, but shaped similar to a Nightjar. Its flight was a combination of wingbeats and glides, with pointed wings and a slightly fanned tail, reminiscent to a female Kestrel. At the time I thought it might be a Cuckoo, but I don't think it's very likely, as I don't think they've started to arrive yet. Chances are, it was something more common - perhaps even a female Pheasant.

No sign of the Golden Plover today, but three Lapwing were sat in the ploughed field, remaining still at all times. Maybe it was the nearby shooting that was going on all evening - new to me, but they're probably used to it by now. As the light faded, I kept my eyes peeled for Owls, but there were no obvious signs. The woods were bright enough to find my way home easily, but all the birds were already gone.

A Pair of Peckers

I took my little girl for a quick late-afternoon walk in the woods... well, I was walking and she was being pushed on her trike, which ain't too quiet! Not expecting much, sometimes does wonders, but today it didn't. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker were nicely lit in the late afternoon sun, though. Also of note was a single Goldcrest in and around the yew trees on Woodman's path.