Sunday, May 31, 2009

Quarrying Butterflies

My daughter has been asking to see what the quarry looks like since the end of last summer, and I've been waiting for a bit of good weather for us both to walk there. This morning we walked there and enjoyed seeing lots of butterflies, including good numbers of Common Blue, and the odd Speckled Wood on the woodland walk there. She has taken a few decent photos on her digital camera ready to go in her Nature Diary. We walked to the very back of the quarry to admire the view, which she was very impressed by. She saw her first Green Woodpecker - two in fact - and a pair of Linnet, but wasn't quite fast enough to catch the shy pink birds (Jay).

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Patch Double Twitch

Last night there was a report of two good birds from the park. Both would be patch ticks for me. The first was of two Yellow Wagtail, and the second of a Little Owl. I set off early to try and relocate them before work. The first notable sighting came from near the Adventure Playground, where I could see a group of five Lesser Black-backed Gull flying high over Parkside Pasture/Broad Valley at approximately 6am.

On reaching the reported location there was no sign of any wagtail species, so I checked the nearby field too, before returning to the original location. I heard a wagtail flight call, and only just managed to locate it before it disappeared. I looked pale buff in the early morning light, but the call was similar to Pied Wagtail, so no luck there. As I approached the northern corner of the field, a small stocky bird flew up from the grass onto the fence post. It was the Little Owl.

I approached cautiously, and managed to get some record shots, before it flew up onto a nearby electricity pylon. This provided me with a much better view, and allowed me to get much closer. After watching me for several minutes, the bird flew over into a nearby Oak, allowing a nice flight view. When I left the area, I could see the bird return to the pylon to scour the ground for food again.

Before heading home, I had a quick look around Bestwood Quarry, seeing a few warblers, a Green Woodpecker, a pair of Bullfinch, a male Linnet, and a handful of photogenic butterflies. On leaving the area I picked up a single Black-headed Gull in summer plumage flying west over Broad Valley towards Mill Lakes. Now Yellow Wagtail takes the place of Little Owl on my list of patch bogey birds.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Guided Walk - Spring 2009

This morning I gave a guided walk around the Mill Lakes for the Friends of Bestwood Country Park. At the Pit Tip Plantation a single Common Tern flew over heading NE at 6am, and a Brown Hare was by the Small Conservation Area. At the lake, a single Shelduck remained, and the Ruddy Duck pair were still present. Before the guided walk I did my usual route and stocked up the feeding station in hope of attracting some Willow Tit for the guided group to see. The clear blue skies and sunshine had plenty of warblers singing, including a couple of Reed Warbler on the Reedbed, and Garden Warbler in its usual Willow Island spot, plus one singing on the Peninsula. A pair of Grey Partridge were on the Golf Course with three more Brown Hare. Whilst waiting for the group to arrive a Pied Wagtail was feeding in the grass around the notice board.

Only two people turned up for the walk, so we didn't follow the whole of the intended route, missing out the Leen Pastures stretch. The Shelduck had departed, but the most of the other birds stuck around to be seen and heard by the group. At the Heron Viewpoint we were treated to a group of large fish swimming very close to the bank in the shallows and giving some great views. Other wildlife of note, was a migrant Painted Lady butterfly before the group arrived, and a Striped Millipede as we walked back home via the main site.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Duck Pairs

At Mill Lakes this morning, two male Shelduck were the highlight, with a pair of Ruddy Duck being a close second. Two male Gadwall were also on the lake. The male Garden Warbler on Willow Island was holding territory, and at least two singing male Reed Warbler were near the Reedbed Boardwalk with another oddly singing from the small patch of reeds between Grassy Bank and Mud Island. A pair of Tree Sparrow were in the hedgerow along the Spinney Path.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Breeding Survey by Bike

Had a long cycle around the park with the bins and camera this morning. First up was the Mill Lakes where both Greylag Goose and Canada Goose have reared young. The Gadwall were still around, and it appears the Grey Heron have chosen a new nest site this year. A few Common Swift were high over the lake, and a single Barn Swallow was hawking insects over Leen Pastures.

Blackcap were singing all over the place today, and Lapwing were in 'good' numbers, with four at Broad Valley, north of the East Paddock, and eight adults and a single brood of four young in Killarney View Field. Lamin's Lane also had singing Common Whitethroat, Yellowhammer, Skylark and Chaffinch. Tree Sparrow weren't hard to find either.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Good, Bad, and Great News

My morning walk to the Mill Lakes was a good one, with a few year ticks in the form spring migrants. A group of four Common Tern flew south-west over Leen Pastures, lingering for a few minutes over the Golf Course before heading west. A pair of Gadwall were still on the lake, a Great Crested Grebe was on its nest and, yet again, a Common Snipe flushed from the Dipping Ponds Boardwalk. Load of Common Whitethroat have arrived, with singing males at Dawson's Corner and all along the Railway Line. As I headed off, two Common Swift were hawking insects over the lake, and a single Red-legged Partridge was in Spinney Field. The downside of my morning was encountering two sets of poachers, at Leen Pastures and in the woodland near Bestwood Lodge, but I won't dwell on the bad.

At home in the afternoon, a quick glance from one of the bedroom windows and I glimpsed a medium-large raptor drifting low east to west over the woodland - it was a Red Kite! The bird was gliding rather than actively flapping its wings. Viewing through bins initially showed a reddy-brown plumage, then the pale head and wing markings could be seen when the bird banked left and right. These movements also revealed the strongly fanned V-shaped tail. After getting some record shots, the bird had changed direction and started gaining height over the Big Wood School area before it drifted off very high to the south-eat in the direction of Arnold.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Pit Tip Brace

A quick visit to the Mill Lakes before work turned up a pair of Grey Partridge on the Pit Tip, and the Starling flock remained as on my last visit. At the lake, the eleven or twelve Greylag Goose youngsters were being heavily guarded by their parents at the Vehicle Bridge and a male Gadwall was by Willow Island. A Common Snipe alarm called as it flushed from the Dipping Ponds Viewpoint, and a Treecreeper was on one of the tree stumps in the Dipping Ponds Conservation Area.