THURSDAY 03 APRIL
The fine weather continues, as does the
falling of dust from the Saharan Desert, with temperatures peaking at 18 degrees
C when the sun broke through, with a light easterly breeze
blowing......
A day of mostly Local
Birding.....
At BOIS MILL POND (CHESS VALLEY), 3 Tufted
Ducks and 10 Atlantic Canada Geese, while in NORTHALL VILLAGE near EATON BRAY,
several Common Starlings on territory, 8 Collared Doves and 28
Jackdaws.
Trying once again for Christine's 3 Corn
Buntings, BRIDLEWAY No.4 at WEST HYDE yielded 4 Linnet, 6 Skylark, Meadow Pipit,
2 Wren, Common Blackbird and a host of early spring butterflies (mainly Peacock,
Small Tortoiseshell & Brimstone) but again no janglers.
A male Linnet
Brimstone butterfly
The garden of CORNER HALL held 16 Fan-tailed
Doves, 5 House Sparrows and 2 Common Starling, while a farmer ploughing his
field attracted in a Red Kite and 70 Black-headed Gulls.
Corner Hall and its Fan-tailed Dove residents
Nearby, LYNSTERS LAKE held 32 Mute Swan, 26
Coot, 4 Great Crested Grebe and a singing Common Chiffchaff, with LYNSTERS FARM
FIELD adding 27 Canada Geese, 6 Greylag and 7 Egyptian Geese.
Late afternoon, I spent some 90 minutes
photographing a pair of LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKERS at a nest hole, the second
such opportunity this past week. It has been a remarkable year for this species
with birds/pairs being reported from a large variety of locations. The same site
also hosted Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard.
The nesting tree
frantically excavating
Back at CHESHAM FISHING LAKES and the first
pair of BARN SWALLOWS had arrived, hawking back and forth over the larger of the
two lakes. Also Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Greenfinch and singing Song Thrush
noted, with the arrival of at least 4 singing male BLACKCAPS. Just a single
Common Chiffchaff singing this evening and otherwise, the Great Crested Grebe
pair (now nesting), 13 Tufted Duck, Dunnock, Wren, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Great
Tit and Common Starling. On neighbouring POW WOW LAKE, the pair of GREY HERON
are nesting again, with a single Mute Swan present and another singing male
BLACKCAP.
Plenty of Blackcaps now around
Great Crested Grebes nesting on the island
At CHESHAM MOOR (WATERSIDE), the Mute Swans
were nesting, while at BURY LAKE I was very disappointed to see that the LAPWING
FIELD had been ploughed; two pairs of very forlorn adults were standing around.
The first-summer Mute Swan was still present, along with 6 Canada Geese, 4 Coot
and another singing male BLACKCAP; 27 Rabbits grazing too.
Continuing further down PEDNOR ROAD, I was
pleased to see that the Rookeries were now in full swing, with the SEAR'S FARM
colony now numbering 19 active nests and that closer to the road near PEDNOR
VALE FARM a further 7. Lots and lots of Red Kite activity with 12 in the air
together.
The Sear's Farm Rookery...
...and this new one much closer to the Pednor Road
Common Starling on territory
In LOWNDES PARK, a singing male Coal Tit was
a first there, with Pied Wagtail, 2 Rook, Chaffinch and 26 Jackdaw furthering
the list. The male Mute Swan was still present, with a Canada Goose active nest
on the island and the Chess Valley vagrant GREYLAG GOOSE paired up with a
Canada!
It's feeding time in the park
The cob Mute Swan still present
one of the Muscovites was taken by a Fox!
and this new 'concoction' has arrived
Atlantic Canada Goose on nest
and our Greylag now thinks it is a Canada
certainly an odd couple
Red Kites all over the place at the moment
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