30th June 2012
– Sunshine and showers, south-westerly wind.
A female Ruddy Duck was the most unexpected record this morning and it lingered briefly around the causeway area.
Of the birds, counts were as follows: two adult Great Crested Grebes with the two young on Car Park Pool, five adult Little Grebes, a Heron, six Cormorants, five Mute Swans and six cygnets, 14 Greylags, one Farmyard Goose, 16 Canadas, 44 Mallard and nine ducklings, 30 Gadwall and at least 19 ducklings, 24 Tufted and one chick, three Redshanks and one juvenile in front of Car Park Hide and three juveniles still on Railway Pool, eight adultOystercatchers and five juveniles, 25 Lapwing, 330 Black-headed Gulls and 20 fledged juveniles, six Common Terns but only one fledged juvenile, 15 Lesser Black-backs and a female Pochard.
The latter was a new arrival and of the Gadwall ducklings, there were two new broods of seven and 12.
Around the Dragonfly Pond there were eight newly emerged Common Darters, sevenEmerald Damselflies, a male Banded Demoiselle, five Four-spotted Chasers, five Black-tailed Skimmers and a variety of Damselflies including Common Blue, Blue-tailed andAzure.
Butterflies included a Large Skipper by River Hide, four Ringlets of which two were by Railway Hide and two along the concrete road, four Meadow Browns which I think are the first of the year (two by the car park and one by the Dragonfly Pond) and a Common Blue, also by the Dragonfly Pond.
29th June 2012
– Windy with the occasional sunny intervals and showers.
Extensive flooding of the river meadows and also of Railway Pool. No bird records.
28th June 2012
– Very heavy rain, thunder storms.
It was as black as I can ever remember the sky today and there were true deluges, which will no doubt cause the river to flood.
Once the rain had passed and there was some sun, it was found that a Teal was a new arrival and the first Ringlets of the year were on the wing in the enclosures by the back gate. There was also a male Black-tailed Skimmer along the causeway and the three relatively newRedshank chicks were still visible in front of Railway Hide. The two Grebe chicks also remain.
27th June 2012
– Sunny intervals, south-easterly wind, humid.
Not a great deal of note today. There was still six adult Oystercatchers and five juveniles and two Lapwing juveniles remain in the crop field with the adults, together with the two nearly fledged juveniles in front of Railway Hide. A few Sand Martins and Swifts were buzzing around, but the sitting Terns on Railway Pool seem to have dropped in number, as have the adults.
26th June 2012
– Periodic showers and sunny intervals.
A Marsh or Willow Tit joined a Great-spotted Woodpecker and three young at the Oak Hide feeder this morning. It is worth keeping an eye out for this to clinch the identification.
With water levels so high, birds are difficult to see in the thicker vegetation but both of the fledged Oystercatchers were showing well on Car Park Pool. In the crop field, the youngest of the remaining Lapwing chicks are still present with their adults. A few Sand Martins andSwifts were present over the pools in the evening when the weather was probably at its best.
25th June 2012
– Sunny periods, north-westerly wind and cool.
A Stoat crossed the path around River Hide before vanishing into the undergrowth and up to six Buzzards were thermaling over the Reserve.
24th June 2012
– Sunshine and showers, cool, north-westerly wind, still blustery but slowly decreasing.
A third Gadwall brook joined the other two on Railway Pool, but all broods are small with only five chicks in total. The first Tufted brood also showed there, but no count of young was recorded.
There were six adult Oystercatchers, often in display flight, with only two chicks showing on Railway Pool and a single fledged juvenile on Car Park Pool.
A male Teal was new in and in the warmer interludes, a variety of animals were showing – several Toadlets by the top gate, four Meadow Browns, a Brimstone and a Small Tortoiseshell on the butterfly front; and dragonflies and damselflies included one Red-veined Darter, two Four-spotted Chasers, an Emerald and lots of Blue-tailed Damselflies and a few large Red Damselflies.
Of at least four Tern chicks visible in the long grass, one is nearly fledged.
23rd June 2012
– Blustery south-westerly wind remained, mostly overcast and remaining cool.
Single chicks from the Redshank pairs on Railway and Car Park Pools are now fledged, with three new chicks on Railway Pool, showing occasionally on the three larger islands. 30 Swifts, 20 House Martins, ten Sand Martins and a few Swallows fed mostly in the lee of the central stream in the blustery and cool conditions.
The first two Gadwall broods showed on Railway Pool, but both broods were small in number with only two each.
22nd June 2012
– Wet in the morning, very strong south-westerly wind, sunny intervals, cool.
There is a new brood of Redshanks on Railway Pool but in the thick vegetation it is difficult to quantify the number of young. The Redshank pair in front of Railway Pool have successfully fledged their remaining juvenile, which fed on the islands and flew around with them. A new brood of three was visible on the islands and a single Ringed Plover chick remains. FourLapwing chicks (two nearly fledged and two young) and were visible from Railway Hide and in the blustery conditions there were 60 House Martins, ten Sand Martins and a couple ofSwifts.
A pair of Teal were also present today.
21st June 2012
– Periodic rain, south-westerly wind.
The first Meadow Brown of the year was on the wing, with at least one Ringed Plover chick surviving on Railway Pool. Four Tern chicks could be seen amongst the grass and theOystercatcher pair on Railway Pool were still feeding their three youngsters.
20th June 2012
– Sunshine and showers, south-westerly wind.
Two Lapwing juveniles have nearly fledged on the bank in front of Railway Pool, whilst two new ones from the weekend remain on the island in front of Railway Hide. An adult Ringed Plover again frequented the crop field.
19th June 2012
– Sunny intervals, south-westerly wind.
In the sunny intervals, three male Red-veined Darters showed well on the Dragonfly Pool whilst, on Car Park Pool, there were still three young Grebes being carried on the back of the adults. A Peregrine put in an appearance on Car Park Pool and the first record of Kingfisherfor the month was by River Hide. Two young Ringed Plover chicks have survived and were visible from Oak Hide whilst, on the central streamline, the Treecreeper showed well.
18th June 2012
– Occasional sunny intervals, cool, south-westerly wind.
In the brief sunny interlude this morning, there were at least five male Red-veined Dartersaround the Dragonfly Pond.
Thanks for Paul Casey for the information that a Marsh Harrier got up from the causeway reeds by the Swan’s nest this afternoon and flew to the river.
In the evening, the illusive Lapwing chicks emerged from the corn crop onto the recently sewn part of the field where there were at least ten fledged birds. This is an excellent success rate and represents two per pair. There is still one half grown juvenile in front of Railway Hide on the shore line and three new chicks were visible in the undergrowth on the nearest island to Railway Hide in the evening.
A male Teal was new in on Car Park Pool and, on Railway Pool, there were at least three broods of Mallard, 11 part grown ducklings and four full grown. The Ringed Plover pair have at least two juveniles, but they will have a tough job keeping these fledging.
The Redshanks in front of Railway Hide have still got at least one juvenile and the adults are regularly perched on the fence posts or on the tops of the Bullrush stems to keep an eye on their active youngster. I am also told that there is a fourth pair, with at least two young, in front of Oak Hide but these are very illusive.
Two young Oystercatchers on Car Park Pool are nearly fledged and the pair on Railway Pool now have three youngsters.
Close to dusk 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Herring Gull flew over, presumably to roost somewhere else, although some appeared to be dropping towards Railway Pool. Most of them were in heavy moult.
17th June 2012
– Showery, occasional sunny intervals, mostly overcast, continuing blustery south-westerly wind.
The drake Wigeon remains and the pair of Ringed Plover in front of Oak Hide were becoming quite agitated by the presence of Black-headed Gulls and regularly gave the broken wing display. Hopefully this suggests young have now hatched.
In the occasional bright interludes, at least one Red-veined Darter showed well near to the style, with Broad-bodied four-spotted Chasers and Black-tailed Skimmers with the firstEmerald Damselfly of the year. Around the car park a Painted Lady butterfly showed particularly well and is the first record for the year.
16th June 2012
– Regular rain, strong blustery south-westerly wind.
The drake Wigeon from two days ago was again seen and the female Pochard flew over. The young birds are becoming increasingly difficult to track in the long vegetation but there seems to be only two Redshank chicks left out of 11, one on Railway Pool and one on Car Park Pool. Both Oystercatcher young which are fledged or close to fledging are still present on Car Park Pool and at least one of the young in front of Railway Hide is also still present.
Other counts were: one Heron, one Cormorant, two adults and one young Great Crested Grebe, five Dabchicks, five Mute Swans and five cygnets on Railway Pool, 23 Greylag and nine Goslings, a Farmyard Goose, eight Canadas and eight Goslings, 40 Gadwall, the drakeWigeon, 21 Mallard, 30 Tufteds, a female Pochard over to the north, 28 Coot, fourMoorhen, 40 Lapwing and one chick, five adult Oystercatchers and two chicks, sevenRedshank and two chicks, 300 Black-headed Gulls and 17 chicks, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, ten Terns and three chicks, 60 Swifts, 20 House Martins and a Garden Warbler by the car park.
15th June 2012
– Sunny intervals, heavy showers, south-westerly wind.
The only records in the log today were the continuing presence of a pair of Pochard on Car Park Pool and a new female on Railway Pool.
14th June 2012
– Sunny morning, clouding over in the afternoon, variable winds.
The male Lesser Whitethroat by the top gate “broke” its silence this morning and was in good son. Presumably having paired up quickly and with little competition, the pair got down to nesting and he is now singing prior to a second brood.
There were seven singing Common Whitethroats between the cottages and the horse paddock. Of these there were four along the road itself, two along the concrete road and one west along the top stream. At least one Garden Warbler was still in song on the Old Road by the car park, where there was also a Nuthatch.
A pair of Pochard were new in as was an unseasonal drake Wigeon. The former were on Car Park Pool and the latter was on Railway Pool. There were 33 Lapwings on the ice rink field, only one of which appeared to be a fledged juvenile. 40 Swifts and 20 House Martins were either over Siden Hill Wood or the field between it and the river. There were still at least threeLapwing juveniles in the crop field and two Redshank chicks on the car park islands.
About 11:15 a large bird of prey flew north over Siden Hill Wood and was thought to be anOsprey. Finally, the Great Crested Grebe pair on Car Park Pool have at least one young.
13th June 2012
– Predominantly sunny morning, cloudy afternoon.
Three male Red-veined Darters were found today by John Oates on the Dragonfly Pool, together with the first Black-tailed Skimmers of the year. Sunday’s finding by John was exactly, to the day, five years since he found the first for the Reserve.
In the warmer conditions today, there were also at least two female Broad-bodied Chasers, aRed Admiral, two Peacocks and over five Common Blues, all around the Dragonfly Pond.
There appear to be a minimum of four, possibly five pairs of Redshank. Young have been produced from three pairs with, we think, three of the original eight remaining on Car Park Pool, and two of the original three in front of Railway Hide. A fourth bird was predated and appears to be sitting again.
12th June 2012
– Mostly overcast, light northerly and dry
I have been helpfully E-mailed by Jeff Preston to say that he and Brian Beesley had a Polecatthat ran across the Old Road into the Reserve about half way down to the cottages. This is at least the second time that a Polecat has been seen in that area.
11th June 2012
– Wet again all day, cool northerly wind.
Despite the poor weather, John Oates recorded a further species of Bumblebee, namely aGarden Bumblebee, taking the total now to seven species. A Fox was seen opposite Oak Hide. There is a pretty mangy individual around at the moment which has been seen around Railway Hide.
Also of note is that the female Swan on the causeway is of a Polish variant ie., it has pink legs.
Seven hardy souls braved the rain to achieve a lot at the evening’s work party. The paths through Siden Hill Wood were strimmed and on the east side a variety of jobs included strimming the path to River Hide, clearing around both gates, uncovering some drains and digging out the willows on the side of the Car Park Pool.
Many thanks to all those who attended on a wet and cool evening; in fact, as we drank a congratulatory beer at 9:30, we could see our breath in the air!
10th June 2012
– Sunny start, slowly clouding over in the afternoon, warm.
The Dragonfly Pond came up trumps today with a Red-veined Darter which roamed the pool but in the cloudy interludes perched up and showed well along the fence line to the concrete road. A number of Broad-bodied and Four Spotted Chasers interacted with the darter and plenty of damselflies included Large Red and Red-eyed. A Beautiful Demoiselle was seen on the causeway with both Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles seen behind Lower Siden Hide.
A warbler survey on the west side revealed up to nine each of singing Blackcaps andChiffchaffs, two singing Garden Warblers, a singing Willow Warbler, at least three singingWhitethroats, at least five singing Goldcrests, at least two Nuthatch pairs, at least twoTreecreeper pairs, both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, and a regular calling pair of Buzzards. What was presumed to be a Marsh Tit showed very briefly at the back of Tower Hide, but refused to call.
The pair of Redshanks on the Car Park Pool islands lost a chick as the adults encouraged the young to the shore and a marauding Lesser Black-backed picked one off.
Six species of Bumblebee were recorded today by John Oates. Tree, Early, Buff-tipped, Red and White-tipped and Carder.
9th June 2012
– Overcast start, slowly clearing to sunny and at last a warm afternoon.
The 22 sitting Common Terns remain just within the dry, despite the high water levels on Railway Pool in particular. The floods at Patrick Farm were to the liking of the maraudingLesser Black-backed Gulls with the highest count during the day being 60 Lesser Black-backs and two Herring Gulls.
Other counts were three Cormorants, two Herons, four Dabchicks, five Great Crested Grebes, four adult Mute Swans and six cygnets, a Black Swan, 21 Greylags and 11 goslings, 30 Canadas and eight goslings, 25 Mallard and at least six ducklings on Railway Pool, 12 Gadwall, 38 Tufteds, two Moorhen, 27 Coot, seven adult Oystercatchers and two young, two Little Ringed Plovers in the crop field, one Ringed Plover, 21 Lapwing on the flood, 18 on the pools and at least five young still, 12 adult and six Redshank chicks, 230Black-headed Gulls and eight chicks, the 22 sitting Terns plus one chick, 30 Swifts, tenHouse Martins, four Skylarks, two Garden Warblers by the back gate, a pair of Chiffchaffswith two fledged young on the Old Road, five Whitethroats along the Old Road, two Sand Martins and a Common Blue butterfly on the Old Road.
8th June 2012
– Mostly wet and cool, south-westerly wind.
The wet weather continued today and the water levels are progressively rising. An interesting interaction between the Redshank pairs on Car Park Pool occurred when the pair of adults minding the three chicks on the shoreline slightly bizarrely flew off, perhaps to feed, leaving the chicks unguarded. Immediately the pair from the island flew to the shore and started attacking the chicks there, only ceasing as the missing pair returned. Despite these attentions, the chicks seemed to survive.
7th June 2012
– Mostly wet and cool south westerly
The four Redshank chicks on the shoreline could not be found this morning but may conceivably have moved to the far shore where a pair of adults were present. Three chicks were still in front of Railway Hide and there were at least four, well advanced, Lapwing chicks in the crop field with the two still in front of Railway and probably at least one in front of Car Park Hide. Two Little Ringed Plovers and a Ringed Plover were in the crop field. 40 Swifts were taking advantage of a brief interlude in the rain about 9 o’clock and there was still plenty of song along the Old Road with Garden Warbler and Blackcap by the Car Park gates andChiffchaff and Song Thrush by the cottages.
A family of dispersed young birds were calling from by the Car Park and were probably Reed Buntings. Recent management work on the Car Park Pool Islands found that the long sitting female Mallard was actually sitting on goose eggs and this morning, what was presumably the same female, had a Gosling in tow!
The pinker Hawthorne Blossom may be a variation in the colour of the Midland variety of Hawthorne, with the colour noticeable on the eastern side of the Old Road and along the River which appear to be the Midland variant. It does not fully explain the predominance of Pink Blossom this year so far. Thanks to Brian Harris for this.
6th June 2012
– Sunshine and showers
The only records in the log book confirmed the presence of all three broods of Redshankchicks. Of the two pairs around Car Park Pool, four remain on the central island but the other four had swam across to the shoreline and were below the hide.
5th June 2012
– An overcast morning, drizzly in the afternoon, south easterly
Before the rain came a rather ragged Red Kite went over at about 10.15am and was seen later in the morning at Barston.
The various wader chicks were elusive today but all appeared to be still present. The growth of the mixed corn crop in the crop field and the vegetation on the fore shore and islands has made the birds difficult to see which, at least, is positive for protection from predators.
The flood water from heavy rain on the 3rd persisted at Patrick Bridge where there 55 Lesser Black-back Gulls and a Herring Gull. 34 Canadas arrived today and were present on Railway Pool and other records of note included two male and a female Pochard and fiveGreat Crested Grebes.
4th June 2012
– A brighter day with sunny intervals, east north easterly
A third Redshank brood was found today, the second four chicks found on Car Park Pool islands to join an earlier brood of four already there. Three still remain in front of Railway. A fourth pair were predated on Railway Pool and a fifth one probably present on site.
186 Southern Marsh Orchid Spikes and 33 Common Spotted Orchid Spikes were counted in the field behind Oak Hide with some possible hybrids as well. There are a number of Marsh Thistles and Ragged Robin clumps as well and people are welcome to look but please tread carefully.
A Hobby was seen on at least two occasions over the Pools in the brighter weather and in the late afternoon a Red-veined Darter was an excellent find on the pond next to Car Park. I think this is only the third record of this scarce, and generally migratory species.
3rd June 2012
– Heavy overnight rain persisting most of the day, cool south easterly
A Yellow Wagtail was the best of thin pickings on an awful day. The Mute Swan pair in front of Oak Hide have hatched out six cygnets which seemed to spend most of the day being brooded by their parents. The marauding Lesser Black-backs picked off yet another Cootchick and a Black-headed Gull was seen to eat a small rodent on Railway Pool.
2nd June 2012
– Drizzly and overcast all day, light easterly
Most of the attention today was directed to breeding birds with the highlights being at least seven Redshank chicks (four on the islands in front of Car Park Hide and three in front of Railway Hide, all of which are elusive). There are still two Oystercatcher chicks on Car Park Pool islands and possibly as many as 15 Lapwing chicks in total spread across the Reserve. There were two in front of Railway Hide, two singles on the Car Park Pool islands and there have been up to 11 in the crop field although recently they have become difficult to see with no more than seven at any one time.
A brood of three Pied Wagtails was being fed by the adults around Railway Pool islands and there are now at least 21 sitting Common Terns.
The cruising Lesser Black-back Gulls continue to pick off Coot chicks. Other counts today were four Great Crested Grebes, six Dabchicks, three Herons, four Mute Swans, a Black Swan, 13 Greylags plus two goslings, 14 Canadas plus nine goslings, 28 Mallard plus five ducklings, 20 Gadwall, 51 Tufted, a female Pochard, 26 Coot and at least three broods on Railway and three broods on Car Park and one on the Reed Bed, three Moorhen plus two broods (two on the causeway and one on Railway Pool), 23 adult Lapwings, five Little Ringed Plovers, two Ringed Plovers, 170 Black-headed Gulls plus 16 chicks, nine Lesser Black-backs, a Collared Dove and a Green Woodpecker.
1st June 2012
– Mostly overcast, occasional showers.
A Little Egret roosted on the far bank of Car Park Pool this morning, but was not visible this afternoon and had probably moved to the river to feed.
Of the wild flowers on the islands there is a fine stand of Ragged Robin on the most southerly of the islands on Car Park Pool; and a feature that I have not noticed before this year is the extent of pink colouring to the May Blossom, both on the Old Road but particularly on the bushes along the Blythe. Any theories – anybody?
