Walking Home from Work

On my way back from work today I got off the bus early to walk back through the woods from the entrance behind Emmanuel Church. Just before entering the woods I was fortunate enough to see a large group of Long-tailed Tit crossing the road to the small industrial estate. There must have been 30 or more birds in the group - almost certainly a large number of juveniles! In the park it was difficult to see much without my binoculars, but I did see a group of two or three (couldn't be sure) Green Woodpecker at the border of Big Wood School Field. Two were seen on a tree trunk overhanging the field and, moving further along, I saw one feeding in the field.

Will it be Flooded?

With half the country in flood I took an evening walk to the Mill Lakes to see the effects. Clear blue skies on the deserted Pit Tip produced a Meadow Pipit in the nearest farmer's field - calling/singing from a fence post surrounding the few trees. Several Skylark were singing very close to me: Two flushed out of the grass alongside the plantation, which I decided to explore for the first time. Just as I was crossing the fence, a Green Woodpecker flew by in the same direction - almost certainly a fledged juvenile.

The pathways weren't too overgrown or wet, and I found my way to the far side which has great view over the fields and Bestwood Village. A group of Common Swift were hunting flies right at the spot I emerged and didn't seem to mind me standing there, as they past close to my head. I took a few photographs in the evening sunlight, before retracing my steps to head into the centre of the Plantation. A couple of Willow Warbler were calling to each other as they collected food in the trees around me, coming quite close to me and giving good views. Other than that, all was still in the Pit Tip Plantation, except perhaps a Blackbird.

As I was about to round the corner to the far side, I realized a male Kestrel was sat on one of the fence posts very close to me, and he spotted me at the same time. He was feeding on something, and after a few seconds' thought, took off with it down over Farmer Fox's Cow Field - guts hanging out. I had no luck in trying to relocate it as I walked down to Dawson's Corner, but there were no signs of flooding at the footbridge so I continued on my way. The Common Whitethroat were singing and feeding in the nettle scrub, a juvenile Blue Tit and Long-tailed Tit appeared, and a male Bullfinch also put in a brief appearance. A Song Thrush was singing from one of the concrete posts along the Sustrans path, and I could hear cars along Moor Road driving through more than just puddles.

The Mill Lakes was surprisingly quiet: No sign of the kids since the new fencing went up, and it was the torrent of water rushing under the Vehicle Bridge that caught my attention. The water on the lake was certainly raised, with the islands' tree branches dangling in the water. I headed down the Reedbed Boardwalk as it was dry. A few calls were coming from the Reedbed, but nothing I knew. Some distant movement in the reeds caught my attention and I watched them for a couple of minutes before a warbler appeared. After a few short views I knew everything was finally right for my first Reed Warbler. It flew off and all was still, so I walked along the nearside of the lake.

The water was certainly high, but not above any of the banks. Not many bird were present on the water, a single Greylag Goose chick with its parents and an adult Great Crested Grebe were the only notable waterfowl. Reasonably large groups of Barn Swallow, House Martin and Common Swift were hunting over the water, often dipping the surface for stranded flies. A Kingfisher caught my eye as it flew above the surface on the far side and disappeared behind the large island, but that was it.

It was becoming too dark to see anything, and I had a quick walk to the footbridge at the north end. It had a strong torrent of silty water passing underneath and had raised enough to collapse some of the greenery on the banks. I took a quick photo in the fading light, and turned around to walk home after a very pleasant evening.

An Early Sunrise Walk

This morning was the joint longest day of the year with dawn before 4am, so I was up early for a walk to the Mill Lakes. Several Skylark were singing over the Pit Tip and a couple were perched on the scrub too. At the bottom of the hill a Meadow Pipit was perched on a fence post of farmer Fox's Cow Field, near the gates, showing well soon after sunrise. A Cinnabar moth was seen by the wooden bridge at Dawson's Corner, where both Common Whitethroat and Wren were competing in song. A male Greenfinch was singing from a TV aerial by the footbridge entrance to the Mill Lakes.

The Reedbed Boardwalk gave close views of a female Reed Bunting collecting food and visiting a probable nest site at the edge of the reeds. She emerged again, allowing some reasonable footage in the nearby tree. The back ride produced very little activity with the odd Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, and the four common tits (including juveniles), but nothing more interesting and certainly no sight or sound of Turtle Dove, which had been reported recently.

At the northern end of the lake, I scanned Mud Island for anything of interest. Something nearer the bank caught my attention, but it was partially obscured behind a willow branch. Adjusting my view, I got my long-awaited view of a perched Kingfisher, fishing from an old fence post or branch angled out of the water. I got the camera ready and adjusted my position for a better view. The distance and intermediate willow made posed a problem, but I managed some record-quality footage.

The first thing to attract my attention on ascending the Railway Embankment was a Red Fox coming towards me along the Railway Track. Before getting close enough for footage, it was harassed by two Magpie and driven into the scrub. At least six Stock Dove were grazing on the Golf Course with Woodpigeon and a pair of Common Pheasant. The rain was creeping in, and I had just an hour to get home, so I headed back.

The rain made for plenty of activity in the willows along the north-east side, with good views of a male Blackcap and reasonable views of several other warbler species, and a nice juvenile Long-tailed Tit. Some of the warblers may have been Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff or juvenile Blackcap, but I couldn't be certain as nothing would stay still for long enough. There was at least one possible Reed Warbler with a yellowish bill and dark legs, but still not enough to be certain.

Rushing home I only managed one more notable sighting - a Song Thrush was perched on one of the concrete fence posts at the back of the industrial estate along the Sustrans path, singing and in good view. Despite being caught in the rain (yet again), it was a very pleasant morning.

An Afternoon at Bestwood Quarry

After visiting the rangers' office to chat to Steve about the place names to use for my park records, I spent the remainder of the afternoon at Bestwood Quarry with the aim of filming the pair of Linnet I'd seen here recently. Most of my birding is done as I walk around the site, checking the various areas, which makes it difficult to film birds - especially the smaller ones. Carrying and setting up the equipment is awkward when you're continually moving around, and "hanging around" in the busier parts of the park the park can produce mixed reactions from those who know little of its wildlife. This afternoon. however, I was in luck. The weather was great and the quarry was deserted. In fact, the only other people I saw were a man with his son walking their dog whilst I was leaving - it's one of the quietest parts of the park!

The overhead wires at the entrance had six or seven Barn Swallow on them, sat in a little group. Along the back path, I had some good views of three Stock Dove feeding in the small meadow alongside the plantation, each bird flushing a few seconds apart. As I walked along to the spot where the Linnet had been, I took a few record shots of two interesting butterflies nearby. One was a Speckled Wood and the other a Common Blue. On nearing the area two Linnet-sized birds flew off into the distance; not a a good start, but there was a good chance they'd return if they were still feeding the young. I found a good spot with reasonable cover, set up the camera and began to wait.

The hillside scrub was well-lit in the afternoon sun, and many birds were singing from protruding branches. The most obvious of these were the Common Whitethroat, with three singing males along that stretch. One was singing from the same spot long enough for me to practice my VidiScope (or should that be ViviMon?!) technique on, but the focus still proves to be a problem for my cheap monocular. Lesser Whitethroat was also present in the same area, with a single Jay and Green Woodpecker nearby.

After realizing that I'd been sat in a sandy patch of ants, and having to remove several of them from my camera bag, a single male Linnet appeared briefly, but not around the site I thought they'd nested. Several small birds were around in the area, all seeming to switch places and making it difficult to get the camera focussed on anything. A male Kestrel appeared from the back of the quarry and began hunting low over the hillside, but by the time the camera was ready to film it, it had disappeared. Also notable, was a pair of warblers which were unlike any I'd seen recently. At the time, I presumed them to be juveniles, but I've since think it more likely that they were Garden Warbler, although I cannot be certain enough for a patch tick.

After a little longer, I decided to call it a day and packed everything up. I descended into the dip and was surprised to find the pair of Linnet were in the scrub just a couple of meters from the path - typical! It took a minute or so to get the camera back out without disturbing the birds too much, but did manage a small amount of hand-held footage using just the camera's optical zoom.

It began to rain again, and so I finally gave up and set off back, noting several juvenile Barn Swallow on the wires at the entrance - possibly the birds I'd seen earlier. Steve popped out of the office as I walked past, to ask if I'd had any luck with the Linnet, so I gave him a quick overview of my afternoon.

A Nice Little Corner

An evening walk around the woods produced very little of interest, since the leaves and overgrowth made it difficult to see anything, and I hardly knew any of the birdsong heard. I spent most of my time around the Three Ponds, which produced singing Wren, Song Thrush, and Chaffinch, with a brief glimpse of what might have been a Blackcap. A single Jay was seen flying over, but the time of day prevented any views of typical targets such as Nuthatch, Treecreeper and woodpeckers.

Moving on to the Lamin's Lane area produced some better birds starting with a probably-juvenile Mistle Thrush at Woodside Liveries. A brief glimpse of a probably-male Linnet on the path to Redhill, was complimented with some footage of a Song Thrush using a stone as its anvil on the same path. Further search for the Linnet produced a good view of a Lesser Whitethroat singing at the top of one of the trees. This little corner of the park was proving to be quite active this evening.

Three Lapwing were in the farmer's field and a Yellowhammer was heard in song, but not seen. As usual, the pheasants were calling, but only a single male Common Pheasant was seen, and no Partridge were around. I checked the two Owl boxes, but to no avail. On the walk home, I stopped for a brief chat with a man from Woodside Liveries, who said there were lots of Owls around the oaks and overhead wires, but only after-dark. A late night or very early morning might be on the cards.

Warmer Weather Means More People

A relatively quick walk to the Mill Lakes and back didn't tun up much, probably because the area was quite busy and there were lots of kids illegally fishing on site. The Pit Tip was quiet and the nice summer's evening seemed ideal conditions for the Skylark that were singing, with four or more seen at once and almost certainly upwards of eight were present.

At Dawson's Corner, a Chiffchaff was heard, but not seen around the western entrance, and the Common Whitethroat was probably around too, although I've not positively learnt the call yet. At the Mill Lakes I noted at least one male Pochard and now two pairs of Gadwall. At least one Chiffchaff was singing here too, but no sign of the possible Reed Warbler from my last visit. From the north-end footbridge, I saw several large (c.25cm) fish waiting for flies to fall on the surface of the Leen. Despite noting a reddish-coloured dorsal fin on one, I couldn't identify them.

The walk home provided good views of a male and female Yellowhammer that seemingly paired-up on the field-side path to the main entrance of the Mill Lakes. This was almost the same spot I saw the previous male. Two Barn Swallow were seen roosting under the archway of Alexandria Lodge - one with its head showing and the other with its tail out of a nest. The relatively low numbers of birds seen on spring/summer evenings is probably (or at least partly) due to the number of people around the park, and particularly the Mill Lakes. In future, I may restrict evening visits to other parts of the site.

Another Tawny Owl Calling

Another evening walk produced a good number of Skylark over the Pit Tip, with at least five seen together, but more-probably numbering ten upwards. A female Green Woodpecker was seen at close range on fence posts around the Pit Tip Plantation, as was a single Jay. Heading down to Dawson's Corner, a group of ten or more Barn Swallow were feeding and calling over Farmer Fox's Cow Field, with the odd Starling too. There was no obvious sign of a Tawny Owl along the Sustrans path this evening, but it was still quite early, so I headed on to the Mill Lakes.

Nothing was to be seen at the Reedbed, probably due to the kids illegally fishing on the opposite bank, so I carried on around the lake as the light began to fade. A group of five male Pochard were notable, as I haven't seen any for a while. I was given a brief glimpse of a warbler on one of the islands nearby, and thought I could make out enough to identify it as a Reed Warbler, but I'm not certain from the brief view. Nothing else of note was around, except a lot of Greylag Goose, but I didn't bother counting.

No Owls on the way back, but it a lot lighter than last week and I wasn't bothering to hang around. However, a single Common Whitethroat was in exactly the same bush as the first one I saw at Dawson's Corner, and still singing at around 9:30pm. Walking back along Front Line behind Rise Park and Top Valley a screechy vocal call came from a large tree just in front of me, which was almost certainly a male Tawny Owl. Despite several minutes searching, the light had gone enough to make it a difficult task, and eventually I gave up, but made up for it with a Red Fox further up the track.