The week started with an absolutely crazy amount of Red Kites tussling and turning over the valley with quite a decent passage of what i now presume was not the local birds as they are still around. Around 20 possibly as many as 25 birds were seen flying West or North West during the day. This included a hefty flock of 8 birds at 11am and 5 at 2pm with both flocks including birds that looked newly fledged. The 4 local birds weren't particularly happy and nor were the local Buzzards either as their own young must be close to fledging. Above: Red Kite Below: Common Buzzard After this event news pasted that during the week Tony had found some quite rare Butterflies up on Totteridge Green so i decided to head up to see them on Thursday. Once i had arrived it wasn't long until we had 2 duelling Male Purple Emperor Butterflies in all their glory fighting above us. Another Male then appeared at the top of a nearby tree and so 3 Males had been seen so far showing their amazing plumage with a tonne of colour and absolute awesomeness. We watched the two males at what we presumed was the master oak tree for nearly 3 hours. In this time we had also clocked up a Peregrine, Red Kite, 2 Common Buzzard, and a Male Pied Wagtail carrying food during the breaks from the action. In the Butterfly world we also had 2 Silver-washed Fritillary, a Brimestone, a Marbled White, and several Large White, Meadow Browns and Ringlet. I then decided to have a closer look at where we had previously seen the third Male Emperor above the trees and upon arrival i was suprised to find it perched on a smaller oak in between two quite large oaks. I watched it for a bit as it is quite interesting to see who territorial they are. I watched as it chased after Purple Hairstreaks, Bees, Swifts, Woodpigeons, and also Stock Dove. Below: Purple Emperor Above and Below: I have added these photos to try and show you the colour on the wings when they are open! After this encounter i decided to head for home via Laurel Pond. Along the way i can across a 4th Male Purple Emperor in some ashes near Totteridge Cricket club, and i watched as it fought off 2 Red Admirals from its territory. I will however come back to this particular Emperor later on. Friday saw me rise ridiculously early to head out to RSPB Rainham Marshes. I arrived at Rainham station at just after 7am and headed out into Rainham North. Rather than just walking past this part of the reserve i decided to have a quite walk of the paths that go through the middle of Rainham North having previously never bothered to do it. Once i was inside Rainham North i was quite surprised at just how much you couldn't actually hear from the main footpath. 15 Common Whitethroats were in this area as well as Linnets, Goldfinch and Reed Warblers however that wasn't what i was here for. Thankfully as i was just preparing to give up the familiar reeling sound of a Grasshopper warbler could be heard coming from in the dense vegetation. I listen to it for about five minutes and very briefly saw it. Another good Year tick bringing my year list up to 154 species. This was the first target species of the day ticked off the list! At this stage it was still cloudy and a little chilly, however given the extreme warmth of recent days this meant there was a lot of activity. A Dunnock sat up and sang for several minutes giving great view and a few more Reed Warblers and the first Reed Bunting and Cetti's Warblers of the day could also be heard. A few Blackcap and a Sedge Warbler were also seen down near the A13 and Cormorants and Little Egrets flew over towards the main reserve. Above: Dunnock Below: Reed Warbler I then moved on into Rainham West and to be honest there wasn't much variation in the species. Sedge Warblers were more numerous here and there was still a large amount of Singing Reed Warblers and Cetti's Warblers. Another Grasshopper warbler could be heard off in the distance on the bend as well which is good. From the bridge the usual Coots were about and so too were 2 young Little Grebes. Whilst i watched them a Water Vole swam through behind them which was my first for over a year. Moving on down towards the main road more Blackcaps and Whitethroats were about as well as a fly through pair of Common Tern and also a few Stock Doves overhead and while all of this occurred there was a rather odd backing vocals of the A13 traffic and lot's of singing Skylarks. Above and Below: Coot and Juv Little Grebe Above: Common Tern Below: Broad Bodied Chaser Rather than heading to the Stone Barges i decided that i would head along the main road between the tip and the silt lagoons. The channel between the road and the photo path that i was on was full of the song of Reed Warblers and also Cetti's Warblers. I hadn't gone very far when i heard the familiar pinging sound of Bearded Tits as 3 erupted from the reed beds. I was quite surprised to see them here and perhaps suggest that some have bred in a different part of the reserve this year as well as the normal ones. young Coots could be heard from the channels as well as a few Little Grebes and a Grey Heron. On the tip there was quite a decent corvid flock and upon scanning this i managed to find 11 Rooks mixed in with the Crows as well as a few Jackdaw. A bit further down and Whitethroats were everywhere with a few singing Sedge Warblers as well. Other wise it was still relatively quiet at this stage, however a dead shrew was an interesting discovery and also a few Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Large Skippers, and Large Whites were about. Above: Shrew sp Below: Small Tortoiseshell Above and Below: Sedge Warbler I then headed down towards the Serin Mound and scanned Wennington. A flock of 19 Jackdaws nosily crossed the Marsh and headed towards the tip while one of the Male Marsh Harriers came right at me and circled above me until it was just a small spec in the sky. Otherwise there wasn't really that much about bar quite a decent flock of Swifts hunting over the Marsh with just a single House Martin and a Swallow for company. Above: 15 of the 19 Jackdaw Below: Marsh Harrier I then decided to head up the path over the tip. More Whitethroats were about here along with several family parties of Linnet and Goldfinch. Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings were singing and a family of Stonechats called to each other from the fence posts. The view from up here was amazing as per usual, however the heat of the day was starting to show itself in full force as the sky over head was no as blue as can be with hardly a cloud in the sky. Above: Juv Stonechat Below: Male Stonechat Above: Skylark I then headed down to Aveley bay where a decent sized flock of 68 Shelduck of various ages fed on the exposed Mud. A flock of several Hundred Large Gulls loafed around off shore and Black-headed Gulls and a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls were sleeping amongst the sea weed. A couple of Common Tern fed of shore along side several diving cormorants. A few Lapwing and Redshank were also about, but otherwise there was nothing that was particularly note worthy. Above: Black-headed Gulls and what i think are Juv Lesser Black-backeds Below: Tortoiseshell Above: Marsh Harrier Below: Juv Black-headed Gull I then headed into the centre for a brief cool down and also to stock up on some food for the trip around. Once i had my lunch with me i headed out for a quick scan of Purfleet Scrape. Little Egrets stalked around the edges of the pools and Lapwings and Redshank also invisibly called from inside the vegetation. A flock of Cormorant flew over and when i picked them up coming in over the woodland at first i thought they were possibly rarer. Reed Warblers sang from the Reed Beds and a Whitethroat also briefly popped up amongst the House Sparrows in front visitor centre. Above: Cormorants I then headed along to dents drop however only a Blackcap and yet more Reed Warblers could be heard. Into the woodland i went and a large family party of Blue Tits was drawing all the attention. I decided to head into the cordite store next to see what i could find and apart from a Silver Y Moth there really wasn't anything about. A Goldfinch did briefly perch at the top of a nearby tree and a few Swifts and Starlings passed over head. I then headed along towards the woodland feeders and along the way i had a quick look into some of the ditches. This brought up Blue-tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly and also Broad-boadied Chasers. While i was looking at all this a pair of Common Buzzard circled the pylons and drifted slowly west on the thermals. Above: Silver Y Moth Below: Common Buzzards I then headed to the Ken Barret hide. And along the way i found a pair of Ruddy Darter Mating on a bit of Reed and also some Chicory with a photo bombing hoverfly. Above: Ruddy Darters Below: Hoverfly sp on Chicory Once in the hide i could see some Greylags over to the right hand side of the hide along with 2 Coot families and a family of Pochard. A Grey Heron also flew over. Just as i was making one last scan from the hide i picked up a bird out over the middle of the marsh. It looked rather oddly like a bizarrely odd Black Tern with dark almost Black wings and a white-ish tail. However when i got on the phone to Howard he had told me that they had it on the deck and it was infact a smart Male Ruff. How odd! Moving on i headed past the now over grown terrapin pool where a rather showy Sedge Warbler sang from the bushes while a Dunnock family crept along the bottom of the bushes sifting through the leaves to find some insect grub. Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings made their presence known as per usual and yet more Swifts came through over head. I next moved onto the First viewing platform at Aveley Pools. Here there were several broods each of Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Coots, Canada Geese, and Greylags. The Pair of Common Tern were still about and it now turns out that the female is still sitting tight on her eggs making it the first breeding record for the reserve. However more importantly 2 Spoonbills sat right at the far right hand side of the main pool dozing away only waking up from the slumber to occasionally preen. They were surrounded by their guards which included 14 Grey Herons and 2 Shelduck. One of the Spoonbills was in full Summer plumage with the tufts at the back of the head and the bit of yellow as well. These Spoonbills were my first since seeing them in the Canary Islands back in December and they are also my first in London taking my year list to 156 species and my London list to 182 species. Just before i was going to leave the viewing platform the pinging of Bearded Tits could be heard from all around us and out came a Male with 3 Juvs. What i sight to be hold as they came really quite close to the board walk. I then decided to head on and up towards the Butts hide. Above: Common Tern Below: Great Crested Grebe and youngster Above: Spoonnills with Coots, Black-headed Gulls and Canada Geese. Along the way to the hide i passed 2 rather showy Reed Buntings and also a family of Mute Swans. A Water Vole was showing very well in one of the ditches however it decided to sit up just out of sight in the reeds to have a feast. Above and Below: Reed Bunting Above: Mute Swan family Once in the Butt's hide i set about scanning Target pools. On the pools were Lapwing, Redshank, Shelduck, Black-headed Gulls and coots. A Marsh Harrier hunted at the back of the pools and a Hobby soared miles high over the marsh chasing a flock of Swift. Above: Marsh Harrier Below: Hobby From the opposite side of the hide Little Grebes were about diving alongside the Coots and a Pochard family lumbered on the island before heading out into the water to dive alongside the others. Otherwise bar a large amount of Canada Geese it was yet again quiet. Above: Little Grebe Above: Pochards Below: Mallards and Canada Geese Above: Canada Geese and Mallards Below: Pochards What happened next was very odd, but also very interesting at the same time. I left the Ken Barret Hide and headed down towards the toilet block. What i was meant to do was to head to the loo, however that didn't quite happen when i spotted a small bird on the board walk ahead which i was sure was a plover. It didn't really help that i was looking almost directly into the sun. It was infact a juv Little Ringed Plover (LRP). What was odd about this was the fact that it was on the board walk and seemed to be happily feeding on something. This was when the situation got interesting as someone came from the opposite direction and my shout and hollowing to try and get the person onto it actually didn't scare the bird away. Unfortunately the person coming the other way didn't seem to get the idea that there was something right in front of him and so eventually he flushed it and the LRP flew towards the Ouzel field. When the man coming the other way came over he proceeded to explain to me that he couldn't hear me because he didn't have his hearing aids in... Above: LRP The heat of the day was starting to get to me now so i headed quite quickly down to the Purfleet hide. Along the way it was more of the same really with Whitethroats, Reed Warblers, and Reed Buntings all singing. A Sand Martin did fly through over head though which was a good sign. A young Moorhen was feeding in a ditch with some fish which i think are roach below it before i headed into the hide. Above: Roach? Below: Young Moorhen Once in the hide the mass of Little Egrets could still be seen. A Green Sandpiper was asleep on the island before being hush out into the open by a Lapwing and somehow unless i am mistaken that Sandpiper brings me up to 157 for the year. After this i headed for home on the hot and sticky tube! Above: Green Sandpiper with a supporting cast of Lapwing, Moorhen, Tufty, and Mallard And so i will now leave you with some photo's from my trip to Totteridge on Saturday and i recommend watching the Hornet Video as it is quite entertaining if you skip to 26s. I wonder where my next adventure will be...? Above: Egg laying Common Blue Damselflies Below: 4 Day old Mallard Duckling Above: Emperor Butterfly Below: Large Skipper Above: Grey Heron's Below: Gatekeeper Above: Meadow Brown Below: Ringlet Above: What i think is just a rusty Ringlet Below: Eurasian Hornet's
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As Howard told me on Monday June can either be a dull month or it can be a Mega month. When i headed out into the Totteridge valley at just before 7am it definitely felt like it was going to be a dull day. Not an awful lot was happening as despite the sun the cold front that had come through over night had left a chill in the air and thus a lack of any singing was a consequence. It was one of those dull mornings however a Song Thrush sang from above the entrance to Owl Field and a family party of Long-tailed Tit were also about with their face masked youngsters. Above: Song Thrush Below: Juv Long-tailed Tits I did an almost full circuit with far less warbler song than usual, however a few Blackcap, Chiffchaff, and Common Whitethroats still sang along with a Lesser Whitethroat. The strength of the sun was now starting to be felt when out of the bitterly cold wind and thus Butterflies started to emerge around us. A Fresh Comma was out in the old gropper field alongside many Meadow Browns, Large Skippers and a few Ringlet which are a new species for me and one i have probably over looked in the past. I then noticed that miles up above us where 2 small gulls heading quickly south and upon photo evidence they appear to both be Juv Black-headed Gulls which for the Totteridge Valley is quite a rare summer record. I then picked up a Red Kite being harassed by Jackdaws off in the distance and also a Common buzzard. Above: Comma Below: Juv Black-headed Gull Below: Ringlet I then headed towards Darlands Lake, however majority of the Mallards have now fledged so there wasn't much about. The Folly Brook south of Darlands Lake is now bone dry for the second year in row, however it has been attracting Little Egrets this year to fish in the puddles that remain as these are full of Stickleback fry at the moment. I then headed into Owl Field once more picking up more of the same Butterflies, however a Marbled White was a new addition to the day and another Ringlet were my rewards. I then headed for home. Below: Ringlet I got home at around 10am and set out my plan to spend a nice relaxing morning writing my last blog post from Rainham, however as i was loading up Twitter i saw that 23s ago a pair of Long-tailed Duck had been reported from Walthamstow Reservoirs Lockwood including a Drake in full summer plumage. This was enough for me to be out the door within 2 minutes and to fire off a few quick messages to other local birders that might be interested in seeing them. All of a sudden this dull June day had turned into a Mega June day! Around 50mins later i had arrived at the reservoir, however trekking to the northern end of the reservoir would take yet another 15 or so minutes as it is one of the largest ones on site. Along the way i passed several Greylag, Canada Geese, a Pochard, and a few Great Crested Grebes. Above: Great Crested Grebe Below: Pochard Below: Greylag I was quite surprised that when i eventually arrived at the location there was literally no one there. I sat on the causeway watching the Long-tailed Ducks for nearly an hour by myself as they dived to feed on the fresh water muscles at the base of the reservoir. The male would always surface after the female and then would always make sure that he was the last one left on the surface when she dived. After an hour of watching them feed they decided that they need to rest and promptly swam right over to where we were sitting and sat on the Bank near us. At this stage i was watching them with both Tony Clancy and also Jamie Partridge. Others soon joined us but at anyone time there were no more than about five of us watching. After a while the birds decided that they need to feed again and so they slowly drifted out into the middle and started diving for their lunch. All this time the Coots looked as though they didn't really know what was going on and to be honest they were slightly weary of the Long-tailed Ducks. The Drake Long-tailed Duck was in fine summer plumage and on occasion showed the reason they got their names. These were my first ever Long-tailed Ducks and have taken my life list up to 211 species in Britain and my year list to 154. These are quite a rare occasion in the capital and an ever rarer occurrence in summer. These ducks are winter visitors to the UK and are also sea birds making it even more spectacular that they have found their way in land in summer. My best guess is that these birds are failed breeders returning opportunistically on the brief period of strong Northerly winds that came through during the previous night. How long they stay is yet to be seen, but they are truly awesome birds. I have uploaded a selection of Photo's and Video's below. I will warn you now that the videos are a bit shaky. After doing some research i no long think the bird is in full summer plumage, however since i have no prior experience of this species in the field i am really not that sure, but moving on... Whilst watching the Long-tailed Ducks a rather large raft of Canada Geese had gathered off to the right hand side as well as a couple of Tufted Ducks and Great Crested Grebes. A few loafing Lesser Black Backed Gulls sat out in the middle as well. There is an obvious movement between all the different reservoirs in the valley with Little Egret, Black-headed Gulls, Common Terns, Cormorants and Sand Martins all moving through over head. In the background i could hear Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Common Whitethroats and i believe that i might have been listening to the ones from Tottenham Marshes. Above: Cormorant Below: Great Crested Grebe Above: Great Crested Grebe Below: New Spurs Stadium, hopefully the home of Arsenal Glory once again. The combination of the wind and the sun was starting to get to me so at about 3pm i decided to head for home via some newly fledged Little Egrets sitting patiently at one of the outflow channels.
So a day that started off like your average dull June day turned into something quite magical with some rare sea ducks. I wonder what will be next? Below: Juv Little Egrets when i arrived at Purfleet station it was both overcast and rather windy a marked change from the sunny still day i left behind me in North London. A Blackcap sang from on of the Oaks on platform 2 however that was all so i pressed on towards the sea wall via lots of House Sparrows and also a lot of Starlings. The Thames its self when i arrived was pretty much deserted bar the odd floating Cormorant and a Great Crested Grebe over near the far bank of the river. Black-headed, Lesser Black Backed and Herring Gulls passed mainly down river very high up and several Great Black Backed Gulls were loafing around on the far bank. Whilst watching the gulls moving through over head i eventually picked out a stunning summer plumage Med Gull as the sun reflected off its pure white wings. An Oystercatcher was the only wader on the far bank which was a little surprising. 4 House Martins hawked insects above my head as did a steady passage of Swifts heading South and into the strong head wind. The passage of swifts was on and off throughout the day and totalled probably no more than 150 swifts. I then proceeded down to the visitor centre where a Swallow was hawking above the river wall. Once inside the centre i scanned Purfleet Scrape, picking up the first Lapwing and Redshank of the day as well as a family of Mute Swan, a pair of Tufted Duck and several Little Egrets. Above: Mute Swan family I then headed towards the woodland via the first singing Reed Bunting and Reed Warblers of the day. A family of coots were in one of the channels and 2 Jackdaw passed over head which is actually quite an unusual sighting for here. Above: Reed Bunting Below: Coot family Next I headed into the woodland to see what was about. A few young Goldfinches were begging for food from the tops of the trees while a Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, and several Chiffchaffs sung from the top of their voices from deep in cover. A Robin showed very well near the entrance to the cordite store. A few Damselflies were about with several Blue-tailed and a few Common Blue. A Greenfinch was in the trees near the woodland feeders along with a few Chaffinch and Collared Dove. Reed Warblers sung from the Reeds that have now immersed the feeders and a few newly fledged Cetti's Warblers called from deep in cover only occasionally coming up to find a parent with food. Above: Juv Goldfinch Below: Blue-tailed Damselfly I headed along to the Ken Barrett Hide with the sun starting to break through the clouds. The Barn Owl box could not be seen for a change with the greenery on the trees covering it. More young coots called from the channels and a Grey Heron and a few Little Egrets could be seen flying above the marsh. What i presume is Tufted Vetch was looking good in the sun and a few Linnets called from the ridge. Once at the hide what i think is a newly emerged Blue-tailed Damselfly was sunning itself on the outside. Above: What i think is Tufted Vetch Below: What i think is a newly emerged Blue-tailed Damselfly Once in the hide Reed Warblers were heard and seen as they zipped across in front of the hide with mouth full of insect grub. 2 Coot families were over at the back of the pools where a little Grebe dived and to the right of the hide a family of newly emerged Pochard slept. But otherwise nothing else of note so i moved on. Below: Pochards The next section of the board walk had yet more Reed Warblers flying in and out of the Reeds as well as a rather stroppy Sedge Warbler and a Dunnock. A few Reed Buntings also sang but for a change could not be seen. The board walk itself was littered with Drinkwater Moth Caterpillar and so i did the decent thing and moved several of the ones in the middle of the path to the edge so that they didn't get trodden on. Below: Drinkwater Moth Caterpillar Onto Aveley Pools and here the back of the pools were completely filled with Canada Geese and the odd Greylag family. Pochard and Tufted duck broods filled the centre of the pools and some looked freshly emerged. Coots were also about and Cormorants watch from their perches. Great Crested Grebe were out and about and a stripy youngster was feeding happily by itself at the back of the pools. A pair of Common Tern were sitting on one of the islands at the back. Their behaviour was quite interesting as they chased of a Male Marsh Harrier, Black-headed Gulls and even a Lapwing whilst i was watching which to me suggests that the other Tern might be siting on a clutch of eggs. If so it would be a first for the reserve so i guess only time will tell with this one. Above: Tufted Ducks Below: Common Terns Above: Little Grebe Below: Stripy Great Crested Grebe chick I then headed up to the Butt's hide via the Northern Board walk. Here i had more Reed Warblers and Buntings as well as one of the Marsh Harriers showing very well over head. The sound of pinging could be heard and out popped 2 Juv Bearded Tits from the Reeds. Perching on the reeds in the wind was virtually impossible however they made several attempts before heading back down into the reeds. The Bearded Tits were a very welcome year tick bring my UK year list up to 152 species getting closer to the all important target. A few Tortoiseshell Butterflies were also around basking in the warmth of the sun as well as lot's of Damselflies right down in front of the hide as Lapwings, Redshank and Swallows passed through over head. Above: Reed Bunting Below: Male Marsh Harrier Above: Tortoiseshell Butterfly Once in the hide the look onto Target Pools was some what fruitless with only a few coot and Shoveler at the back of the pools with Little Egrets stalking around the edge with a few Grey Herons over shadowing them. Upon closer inspection with my scope i could see 11 Teal tucked into the reeds with 2 Black-tailed Godwit as well which is quite early for the Godwits so perhaps they are the failed breeders starting to filter back through on their journey south. A large group of Canada Geese were out to the right of the hide and being harassed by Lapwings as well as Redshank and Shelducks slept on a dry patch of ground. Six different Marsh Harriers could be seen over head so i presume that some of them were this years young birds taking their first fights. Reed Buntings could also be heard singing and both Redshank and Reed Bunting could be seen in the same view for a brief bit of time. (Pictured Below) Onto the Winter Pools side of the hide. Here a Great Crested Grebe sat at the back of the pools preening itself. Lot's of Coot and a Little Grebe divided in front of the hide in search of food as well as several Tufted Duck. Otherwise the only only other thing of note was a family of Mute Swan with some quite young cygnets. Above: Little Grebe Next i headed to the dragonfly pools. Here another Juv Bearded Tit emerged from the reeds albeit rather briefly, and both Common Whitethroat and Reed Bunting sang from a tall bush that in the reed bed. Below: Reed Bunting I then continued down towards the MDZ. Along the way more Whitethroats sang along with both Sedge and Reed Warblers. The occasional Burst of a Cetti's could be heard as well. In the channels both Coots and Little Grebes fed and what i presume where Roach swam under them along with some hefty Marsh Frogs sitting in the shallows. Once at the MDZ a family of Little Grebes were out just in front of the Reed Beds being busily fed by the parents. (Pictured Below) I then headed up to the Purfleet hide via a couple of family parties of House Sparrows and also some rather tame Male Reed Buntings which just sat there singing as i walked past providing some great photo opportunities. More Marsh Frogs lumbered in the channel just next to the hide and their familiar croaking filled the air. A family party of Reed Warblers was also a good addition to this little section with the Juvs looking very newly fledged and a little bit clumsy with one just saving itself from the water as it suddenly realised it could fly back up to the top of the reeds where it perched looking a bit traumatised. Above: Juv Reed Warbler Below: House Sparrow's Below: Male Reed Bunting I then headed into the Purfleet hide. Honestly there wasn't too much about however a few Shoveler were a good addition along with some Little Egrets dotted about, but as of yet no fledged Little Egrets among the adult birds. Above: Shoveler Below: Little Egret After some lunch i decided to head in search of a particular Orchid that Rainham has to boast. A stunning Bee Orchid. It was a little smaller than the last one that i saw here however in that time my perception on the world may have changed a bit and as Jamie said this one definitely has more flowers. Its such an oddly beautiful plant. I then did a brief and unsuccessful raptor watch as Howard came past me with yet another new Hoverfly species for the reserve. Above: Bee Orchid I then decided to head for Rainham station and so i walked along the lower sea wall with a back drop of Tufted Vetch making for quite an amazing scene. In Aveley bay a family group of Shelduck were around as well as both Lapwing, Redshank and a lone Oystercatcher, but otherwise nothing else of note. Above: Tufted Vetch Below: Shelduck Ducklings I then decided to head up to the path over the tip. The view is always amazing from the top and as everything is so lush and green at the moment it was defiantly more beautiful than normal. One slightly thing is that part of this area had been mown. I believe it was mistake by the company who manages this area, however it could have been a costly one with nationally important populations of Meadow Pipit, Skylark, and also Corn Bunting breeding up here. Thankfully parts have been left untouched and therefore those birds that did lose their nest should hopefully relay, however it shows who one simple mistake could have an adverse effect on local wildlife. This is something that other authorities should take note to and in the future when they think about mowing a grass verge or an area of parkland perhaps they should really be thinking about what could be in their already and the effect it might have on those animals. What i guess i am trying to say is that many things that we do in the UK such as mowing lawns and our farming practices, when done at the wrong time of year, can have a huge impact on wildlife including not just birds, but insects such as Butterflies and Bees as well. Anyway on the positive side of things there was still an abundance of both Skylark and Meadow Pipits up here with thankfully a few fledged young of both species out and about. A family group of Stonechat was also good and i think these might be some of the first to be confirmed as breeding on the reserve in recent times, but i could be wrong with that. A few Linnet were also around on the fence posts as well and Reed Buntings sang off in the distance as well as a flock of around 138 Stock Dove feeding on the cut areas of the tip. Above: Skylark Below: Meadow Pipit Above: Juv Stonechat Below: Male Above: Juv Stonechat Below: Skylark Just before i headed off a quick scan over Wennington revealed that the Marsh Harriers were still up and about and had put up quite a decent flock of Black-headed Gulls from Target pools. Otherwise yet more Coots and their Cootlings were in the channels. I then continued along the road between the tip and the silt lagoons. A Male Marsh Harrier drifted along the road in front of me while 3 Jackdaw headed hastily across in the other direction. Linnets were about along the side of the road and a singing Corn Bunting was a new addition to my year list as it showed distantly from the top of a thistle. This is great news as hopefully it means that they weren't put off by the mowing and should be able to raise another generation for this still declining species. It also takes my year list up to 153 which hopefully means that by the end of the summer i should be around the 180 mark, i hope. A few Black-tailed Skimmers hunted the channel between the footpath and the road, and a few Reed Warblers, and Cetti's sang from the Reeds. Below: Black-tailed Skimmer I then picked up the pace heading towards the station so that i didn't miss the next train and passed singing Blackcaps, Whitethroats, Reed Warblers and Skylarks. A female Peregrine also flew through by the A13, and then i headed for home via a rather long winded route, but at least i made it home just in time to miss England's first goal...
Below: Peregrine Since some errands would take me close to a sight which I recently found out had Black-necked Grebes i decided that this might be my best opportunity to see them. I got my mum to drop me there on the way back and lets just say it was a very good idea. Upon arrival i spotted 5 Common Buzzard circling the Site as well as a Grey Heron, a Sparrowhawk and a Hobby. The Grass land next to the site contained both Common Blue Damselflies and also a decent amount of Meadow Brown Butterflies. Above: Hobby Below: Common Blue Damselfly Above: Grey Heron Below: Common Buzzard's Once i got to the viewing platform the first scan of the Res brought up nothing bar lots of Great Crested Grebe's, Coot's, Black-headed Gulls and also a line of rather sleepy Drake Tufted Ducks and Pochards. There were also a few females of both the later species dotted around, but i assume that these drakes were no breeders. 10 Canada Geese sat on the far right hand side of the res as well as a pair of Mute Swan and their Cygnets. A few Mallards were dotted around the lake as well as a few pair of Gadwall as well. After a few minutes a heard the now much more familiar call of a Sandwhich Tern out in the middle of the res and eventually picked it up within a group of Black-headed Gulls which were feeding frantically on what i presume was an emergence of insects. The Tern called a few times as it circled the res keeping its distance as it went and then eventually at around 1pm flew off towards the nearby housing estate in a northerly direction. These were however not what i had come for, but they were all added bonuses. Eventually i hit the jackpot and came up with not just one pair of Black-necked Grebes, but 4 and also an oddball sitting off to one side by itself. After a while a pair came in quite close and allowed for some amazing views of them in full summer plumage. Elsewhere on the Res a raft of loafing Lesser Black Backed and Herring Gulls was out just to the right of the platform and both Blackcap and Reed Warblers sang from around me. Above: Great Crested Grebe Below: Drake Pochard Above: Black-necked Grebe Below: Mute Swan It was great to get such good views of the Black-necked Grebes and was a truely fitting way to bring up my 210th British Bird and my 179th London Bird. (Despite the fact that i was in Hertfordshire, but moving on). I then decided to pay a visit to a nearby site that I hadn't been to in years as it was a firm childhood favourite of mine. I hadn't quite anticipated for the fact that there would be no pavement so the journey was quite scary at times, especially when a parade of 4 tonne lorry's carrying large stones trundled by. A male Pheasant in the a lay-by was hardly compensation for nearly being run over, but i got the feeling he knew how i felt. (Pheasant pictured below) Once at the next site a Muscovy Duck was viciously defending its young and drove a family of Canada Geese into the water. 88 Canada Geese were there in total and the reason for counting flocks of birds was rewarded on this occasion as a lone Barnacle Goose was out in the middle of the flock. This was a year and London tick for me and now brings my London List up to a nice 180 species and my year list up to 151 species. A Common Tern was also out on the in the middle fishing in between the sailing boats. Several Grey Heron, lot's of Mallards and Coot's, 9 Tufted Duck and 5 Great Crested Grebes could be found out in the middle as well, along with a small raft of gulls featuring mainly Lesser Black Backed and Herring Gulls, bar the odd Black-headed Gull. Some of the Coots were still sitting on nests while others had chicks. A family of Mute Swan was taking shelter in the shade and 2 Red Kite, 4 Swift, a Kestrel, 5 Swallow, and 2 House Martin were over head. I then decided to head for home feeling quite pleased with the day list i had achieved. This was just the start to summer that i needed and to see the Black-necked Grebes in their dashing summer plumage and in the sun was truly amazing. I sure hope that my summer holidays continue as they started... Above: Coot Below: Common Tern Above: Barnacle Goose with the Canada's Below: Common Tern Above: Tufted Duck with Mallards Below: Barnacle Goose (Some of the best views i have ever had of this species) Below: Red Kite Above: Common Tern
Below: Grey Heron A dull gloomy morning saw me driving to Thursley Common alongside Simon. The journey went smoothly and apart from a few Buzzards and a couple of Kestrels there wasn't much about both human and avian wise. As we got closer to the common we spotted some Rabbits feeding on the road side in the small village of Thursley. After some hair raising bends and narrow streets we arrived at Thursley Common. The pond next to the car park was quiet so we figured that it would be best to come back later in the day when it was warmer to see if there was any activity. We had only just left the wood land near the car park when a small bird came down from a tree in front and started to collect insects returning to perch each time. It was a female Redstart and meant that one of the target species was already ticked off for the day. It showed amazingly well and was a sign of this to come. Above: Female Redstart We continued up the path to the sound of singing Wrens and Chaffinches. The eerie sound of Curlews calling called also be heard out over the heath land. As we walked along the main trail the boggy area to our right hand side held both singing Reed Bunting and Common Whitethroat as well as 2 Drake Tufted Ducks, a Drake Shoveler, and a pair of Mallard with their ducklings. Some interesting orchids were out in full bloom and Linnets, Goldfinches, and several large families of Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits passed over head in the trees above. One the left hand side of the path a smaller pond held 2 hawking Swallows coming down for a drink. A couple of pairs of Stonechat called to each other from the gorse which i think is the first time i have actually heard their call. A Skylark could also be heard in the distance along with the faint sound of a Cuckoo! Above: Tufted Duck Below: Mallard and Ducklings The footpath took a turn to the left and took us through a small patch of young woodland. When we emerged on the other side we met a local birder who gave us directions for where best to look for the target species, however it would seem that we would not need his advise cause no sooner had he left 2 Woodlark started to spire in quite a ferocious territorial dispute and a Tree Pipit parachuted to the tree next to us and started to sing. A Juv Stonechat also chatted away from a nearby bush. Above: Juv Stonechat Below: Tree Pipit We then moved on however we hadn't gone more than a couple of metres before the familiar sound of a Dartford Warbler could be heard from the undergrowth. Sure enough up popped a Male Dartford Warbler a extremely close range and it sat there for what must have been a couple of minutes preening itself in front of us. Although i have seen this species quite a lot in recent years this was by far the best views i have ever had of one and also the first time i have ever managed to get a photo of what is usually quite a secretive species. (Pictured Below) We then continued our journey and as we approached each of the next two small areas of woodland, they both to our suprise had Singing Male Redstarts in them. The Redstarts would had up to perch in the trees and give a little burst of song before heading off to find food and returning with beak fulls of insects to feed their young which are presumably close to fledging. Below: Male Redstart We then continued along the open heath land getting more amazing views of Dartford Warblers, Tree Pipits, Woodlarks, and Stonechats. A Curlew also briefly appeared calling in flight before disappearing back into the gorse and heath. Around us there were several species of Butterfly and Moths which would occasionally give decent views. Small Heath Butterflies and Common Heath Moths were in abundance here. Above: Common Heath Moth We then proceed into a more substantial area of Woodland and clocked up yet another Male Redstart as well as a rather hefty family group of Coal Tits numbering almost 15 individuals. A Pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker were feeding young in a nest hole at the top of one of the large pine trees and Willow Warbler, Robin and a second Cuckoo sang from the tree tops. The Willow Warbler was actually quite obliging and gave pretty decent views for this species. We then decided to head back and find a place to have some lunch. We decided to head to a little view point over the heath to eat lunch in peace and quite. The view was amazing and the heat of the day was starting to become apparent. Whilst we were having lunch a family of Stonechat called to each other from behind us and a Male Redstart sat up in view. A Pair of Hobby also hunted over our heads giving some decent views. Above: Male Redstart Below: Hobby Below: juv Stonechat We then set off for the car park passing a Common Buzzard and another obliging Tree Pipit. A second Mallard Brood was now out on the large expanse of water and so were some Dragonflies with Four Spotted Chaser, Red-eyed Damselfly, and Common Blue Damselfly all giving good views alongside Emporer and also a probably Darter sp. Above: Tree Pipit Below: Mallard Duckling As we approached the car park we stumbled across some photographers that were taking photos of a Jay in the tree. What was interesting about this was that there were 2 alarm calling Redstarts surrounding the jay. The famale was carrying food and the male was keeping a safe distance in a nearby tree. Both birds were very obviously trying not to give away the location of their nest as if they Jay found out he would surely take all the young for his lunch. This stand off had been going on for at least 30 minutes and was still continuing after i left so i am hopeful that the perseverance of the birds paid off in the end. Above: Jay Below: Female Redstart Next we decided to hatch a plan and rather than stopping off at Staines Res we decided that we would get through the traffic whilst it was still relativity light and head to Brent Res. After just over an hour and a half later and we were in the hide at Brent Reservoir enjoying views of Common Tern, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Black-headed Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Coots, Moorhens and Great Crested Grebes. Other species that were of note were a few Cormorant, 2 Drake Teal, and a fly through LRP which was my first of the year. Another interesting duck was a Silver Bahama Pintail which gave nice flight views and feed in front of the hide for a few minutes before flying off towards the North Marsh. This duck would have been a lifer for me if it wasn't a plastic fantastic, and by that i mean an escapee. Other highlights included the local House Martins putting in a good show and also both Red-eyed and Common Blue Damselflies. Above: Cormorant Below: Common Blue Damselfly Above: I think this is a freshly emerged Common Blue Damselfly Above: Common Tern Below: Great Crested Grebe After this is then dropped Simon home and since i still had a couple of hours left i decided to head up to the Totteridge Valley as it sounded like a decent raptor day there today with 3 Red Kites being reported already! When i arrived at Laurel Pond i noticed that a rather puffed out moorhen was sat on a nest and upon closer inspection it revealed 6 little tiny faces peeping out from underneath it. This was odd as this is the same pair that still has 5 nearly fledged youngsters on the same pond and i wasn't aware that Moorhens had second broods. Above: nearly Fledged Moorhens Below: Proud Moorhen parent Once i had reached the valley the song of Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, and Common Whitethroat could be heard. Over head a pair of Hobby nosily chased off 3 local Buzzards from their territory and Bullfinches called invisibly from the bushes. A Song Thrush with a beak full of insect grub was seen near Burtonhole Farm where 6 newly fledge Pied Wagtails were sat. Swallows, House Martins, and Swifts hawked insects over head while another Hobby hunted over Finchley Nursaries perhaps suggesting that there are two territories in the valley this year. On into cow field and there were atleast 5 Lapwings in the Maize field and some invisible chirping suggests that they might have young. Rooks, Carrion Crows and Jackdaws erupted from one of the fields as a pair of Buzzard passed extremely low over it and another or the same pair of Hobby were hunting over Lapwing field (Ironically there are no Lapwings in this field this year). Onto Darlands Lake were Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests sang and a Moorhen and 20 Mallard Ducklings were out out on the water. Another Bullfinch called invisibly near the entrance to John's Field before it was time to call it a day and head for home. Above: Pair of Hobby Below: Common buzzards Above: Song Thrush Below: Pair of Hobby Above: Common Buzzard And so now i head back to revision for my final exam and all i can do is look forward to my impending freedom and to what is hopefully going to be a superb summer of Birding! With my year List for the UK now sitting on 149 and my Totteridge Valley year list sitting on a record equalling 98 it is going to be a good summer ahead! I will now leave you with tiny Moorhens taking their first few steps! |
AuthorI have been a birder since i was 8 however only really started to be able to go out to places by myself in Summer 2016 (Blame the parents) My blogs will be from all over the place, but mainly from RSPB Rainham Marshes and Totteridge Valley! Photography done by Samuel Levy aged 18. Archives |