Dawn Chorus Guided Walk - Sunday 12th May

It may have been an early start but well worth it with a clear sky, cool and quite windy to begin with but easing later. 8 people joined myself and Ranger Jane at 0430 outside the Visitor Centre and after a quick briefing we set off along the main path with Blackbirds and Robins already well into their stride. At the steps we turned off to head down to the Rough and a Blackcap joined the chorus along with a more distant Song Thrush. As we skirted the edge of the Rough a couple of Garden Warblers were heard, but quite difficult to pick them from the backing track of the Blackbirds and Robins, even though they were closer to us. We continued to the Dead Seat and looked out over west Fingers in the hope of an Otter cruising by at this early hour but that wasn't to be, instead a Chiffchaff serenaded us from high overhead in the Willows.

Next stop was the Rough, but not before another Garden Warbler sang to us as we passed the muddy patch before the gate. Jane let us into the Rough, a conservation zone, and we did the outer loop picking up yet another Garden Warbler. We also found the Song Thrush which was doing his best to drown out everything else by now. Blackcap, Wren and Chaffinch along with the first Great and Blue Tits started to come to the fore as we stood and listened to the chorus. Robins and Blackbirds started to find better things to do and background levels began to settle back to a point where individual birds could be picked out. The subtle song of the Willow Warbler was still overwhelmed, however, as it song from the top of the Poplars in the Sheep Pen. Carrion Crows and Jackdaws were also quite vocal here.

We retraced our steps back towards the Steps noting that the Finger Lakes Mute Swans have settled back to one of their regular nest sites after dabbling with a couple of new sites in recent weeks. Back on the main path and it wasn't long before we found our first singing Reed Warbler of the morning, in the reeds along the north edge of the main lake. A few Swifts were spotted overhead and as we moved along the path to a more open spot we realised there were a good number of Swifts over the main lake and higher up I spotted a group of ~35 Sand Martins with another group of 5 close by.

We turned down the Spit but the Willow Warbler that has been in the first Willows on the right was AWOL this morning, slightly frustrating as I was hoping we would be able to hear this one more clearly than the one in the Sheep Pen. Blackcap and Garden Warbler were again prominent along the Spit and a single Little Egret was on the fallen Willow at the north end of west Fingers. The resident pair of Great Crested Grebes were also on west Fingers, still seemingly not having settled on a nest site. A male Cuckoo made itself known   arriving from the north of the park and circling the south end of Fingers before stopping at the Willows across by the the Dead Seat. It then retraced its steps before going quiet.

In the Crescent we stopped and took in the song of the Reed Warblers and solitary Sedge Warbler. Reed Warblers are still not here in great numbers but there has been an increase this week with more moving in along the south side of the main lake per DK.

We moved on to the Beach where the strong overnight winds had whipped the lake to foam which had built up along the edge of the Beach. We continued along the Navigation Channel with a brief stop at Kramer Hide and continued across the flower meadow to the Kissing Gate. A couple Blackcaps were singing strongly at the north end of the Woodland Walk and yet another Garden Warbler was singing across the road by the side of the New Cut.

From the STW bridge Reed Warblers were the main players in the reed bed, seemingly usurping the Sedge Warblers that had been here in previous weeks. A single Sedge Warbler was trying to start up on the east side of the river but not quite making it yet. A quick look out over 100 Acre where a handful of Starlings were feeding in the long grass and a pair of Mute Swans were preening on the small lake. The wind had eased by this time so I led the group along the cycle track to the Meadow Lane turning off onto 100 Acre just before the bridge. We had stopped along the cycle track as a Sedge Warbler sang from the reeds by the  big lake on 100 Acre. An Oystercatcher showed briefly in the grounds of the STW.

As we headed along the trail on 100 Acre a Common Whitethroat greeted us with its flight song and the single piping note of a Redshank was heard. We stopped at the gap in the hedges and looked out across the island on the big lake. A pair of Tufted Ducks were present along with a Great Crested Grebe. Several pairs of Canada Geese are on nests on the island. The Redshank called again was spotted across the far side of the lake, it settled on the side of the lake and gave good views in the scope before flying off to the island. A Snipe flew over towards Meadow Lane GP and an Oystercatcher showed itself at the north end of the island. It flew and gave us good views as it circled the island. Another noisy fly past and another Oyc showed itself on the island. 5 Mute Swans and couple of Greylag Geese were on the Spit between the main lake and the bay.

As I checked the bay I spotted a pair of Great Crested Grebes displaying. They were mirroring each others actions so I pointed them out to the group and we watched as they continued this display. Next they both disappeared and one surfaced with a beak full of weed. A brief wait and the the second bird surfaced and they engaged in the weed dance, a beautiful sight, making the early start worth the effort on its own.

We followed the trail along the edge of the bay and Sedge Warblers were singing strongly on both sides with one bird showing really well in the hedge by the side of the bay.

Next stop was the north side of the crop field where Skylarks were getting up. One of the group spotted a couple of birds on the ground and the scope revealed a pair of Wheatears, undeniably the star birds of the morning. They showed fairly well in the scope before we moved on, checking out the scrape where a couple of Lapwings got up, another great sight and sound as they displayed. A single Pied Wagtail flew in but no sign of the White Wagtails or Ringed Plover of the previous weekend.

We circled back to the cycle track by the bypass and headed back towards the park. Sedge Warbler, Blackcaps and Common Whitethroat were all heard and when we reach Meadow Lane a Swallow flashed across the path in front of us. Looking up Meadow Lane a couple of Swallows were hunting up and down the path and a couple of Swifts were hunting above the large tree further back along the lane.

Back at the STW bridge Reed and Sedge Warblers were now singing strongly, Reeds in the reed bed, fittingly, and the Sedges on the periphery. We followed the road back along the north side of the park but didn't pick up anything new until we reached the car park where a Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the hedgerow between the car park and the Premier Inn. Swifts were still in good numbers over the VC and Martins and Swallows were over the main lake. Sand Martins are investigating the artificial nest block on the main lake island per DK. Will they stay and make use of the facilities for the first time this year? Stay tuned.

Thanks to all who joined me this morning and special thanks to Jane for the tea, coffee and toasted tea cakes after the walk. Back to normal next time with the regular guided bird walk on Sunday 26th May, meet at 9am outside the visitor centre.

For those of a "batty" disposition the first guided bat is on Friday 31st May at 9pm led by Ranger Danny.

Guided Walk - Sunday 28/04/2013

A cold and breezy morning to greet the group for the guided walk. 10 people joined me and after a quick overview of recent arrivals we set off down the main path. First stop was the dipping platform to have a look at the Hirundines hunting over the main lake. Swallows and Sand Martins were present. Next stop was the Spit where a Sedge Warbler was singing at the junction with the main path. Conveniently a Reed Warbler was singing on the other side of the main path giving all a great opportunity to compare and contrast these two, oft confused, songsters.

Reed Warbler

A Common Whitethroat sang briefly nearby but that was the only one we had all morning and most people missed it! A Lesser Whitethroat had also been singing in the same area, earlier in the morning when I did my recce.

We walked along the Spit getting at least 4 more Sedge Warblers singing spaced out along both sides and a single Garden Warbler burbling away in the closed section at the end. These guys have only recently arrived in the park and haven't really started singing properly as yet but the bubbling quality to the voice is still quite evident.

Retracing our steps we walked around to the Rough and had Lesser Black-backed Gull, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Robin and Song Thrush on the way. We stopped by the gate to the Rough and listened to a Chiffchaff singing in the Willows opposite while a Willow Warbler sang from Sheep Pen. We moved a little to hear the Willow Warbler better, before moving off down to the Sedgewick Seat.

We continued along the edge of the Woodland Walk and found a Blackcap singing strongly half way along. A Greenfinch was wheezing up at the Kissing Gate and a couple of Sedge Warblers were singing from the reed bed under the STW bridge. We struggled to find a Sedge Warbler to see but eventually one showed along the edge of the path along the east side of the river. 100 Acre was disappointingly quiet although as we headed back towards the park a pair of Oystercatchers flew over from there, displaying noisily.

We finished off with a walk along the New Cut and had the usual brief Kingfisher view as it flew down the cut. It stopped briefly on a branch but as I moved to set up the scope it continued along the Cut. A loop around the hedgerows around the car park for a Whitethroat proved fruitless but arriving back at the Visitor Centre we had 10 Swifts flying about overhead, my first of the year.

The next walk is the Dawn Chorus at 04:30 on Sunday 12th May but if you aren't an early bird the next of the normal walks is May 26th at 9am. Meet outside the visitor centre for both.

Tuesday 23rd April

Another day off to help the Rangers oiling the Canada Goose eggs. More on that later, as usual I got to the park early to have a look around. Nothing outstanding to report although a Common Sandpiper on the Beach was nice to see. Did have a couple of Gadwall oddities:

The bird I was focussed on is at the back in the first picture and the front in the second. You'll note the missing black rear end. The flank is also showing a smaller grey area than it should but other features appear to be standard. The white speculum and black and chestnut in the upper wing were all present. Having looked at pictures today it might be just that the bird is moving into eclipse plumage a bit early.

Also looking at the pictures the other bird in the top picture which is also at the back in the second picture is showing strange colouration on the head, again other features are standard male Gadwall.

If anyone would like to comment I'd be glad to hear views on these 2 birds.

Back to the egg oiling. We revisited the main lake island which the rangers first did a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit of an eye opener after last week gentle introduction to egg oiling. several of these birds were very feisty indeed and having Rangers Danny and Nicky fending them off, while myself and volunteer Alan did the recording and oiling, was a welcome shield!

This visit we located 22 nests and oiled 86 new eggs.

In the afternoon we revisited the Finger Lakes. It's quite tricky getting to some of the nests on the spits where you don't have room to get on land without shifting the geese first. One particular pair gave me a couple of good whacks as I tried to fend them off and give Alan time to get off the boat to help me.

Despite lots of searching we found just 1 new nest with 4 eggs and an old nest with a couple of new eggs. We did also come across a young Muntjac which got a bit fed up with us invading its spit. It would move and we would check the Spit and then move to the one where it had moved to. Evetually it got the hint and moved to the area we had already checked.

We spotted another Terrapin sunning itself around the back of Fingers and there were some really good sized Carp cruising around on West Fingers.
 
The rest of the egg oiling stats so far are as follows:

Second visit, Boating lake 4 nests 10 eggs
Great Ouse from Kempston down to the boatslide: 5 nests 30 eggs.
First visit, main lake 16 nests and 92 eggs
First visit, Finger lakes 3 nests 16 eggs
First visit, Boating lake 5 nests 30 eggs


So a total of 270 eggs oiled so far this year. The Rangers will continue visiting the various sites over the coming weeks until the birds give up and abandon the nests.