Guided bird walks CANCELLED until further notice

Given the latest advice from the government regarding the coronavirus I am cancelling my guided walks at Priory CP until further notice.

Please check back here or contact the ranger for further information as the situation changes.

Bat Walk 08/08/2019 - **** FULLY BOOKED ****

The bat walk on August 8th at Priory CP this year. It is essential to book as places are limited. Please follow the link below for further details:

Priory CP 2019 Bat Walks poster

Evening Guided Walk - 06/06/2017 - CANCELLED

Sadly this event has been cancelled due to lack of bookings. There is another one in July:

July 11th 7pm - Evening Guided Walk

If you would like to come along please make sure you book in advance.

A tale of two walks

Last weekend was a busy one for the park with the first bat walk of the year on the Friday evening and the annual Dawn Chorus walk on Sunday morning.

I joined the bat walk on Friday evening along with 20+ others hopeful of seeing a few of the parks bats in action. We weren't disappointed as 6 different species were detected and/or seen. Excellent viewing was had along the south side of the main lake where Pips and Serotines could be seen against the darkening sky. There were also excellent views of Daubenton's bats from the fishing swims along the east side of the main lake. Nicky leading, assisted by Danny, provided great information from basic information about using our detectors through to just about anything you could want to know about bats. All in all a great evening out in the park. The six species we found were:

Common pipistrelle
Daubenton's bat
Nathusius' pipistrelle
Noctule
Serotine
Soprano pipistrelle

And so to the Dawn Chorus walk. I was joined by 15 people for a 4am start. Sadly the weather forecast was not looking good and for once they got it right! It started to rain lightly as we headed off down the main path. We hung out down in the Crescent where Reed Warblers were burbling away Blackbirds and Robins were already singing strongly joined occasionally by the loud bursts of song from the resident Cetti's Warbler. Reed Buntings joined the chorus singing much stronger than we have been experiencing at our usual start times. Blackcap, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Blue and Great Tits all gradually joined the chorus. A backing track of raucous calls from the roosting Crows and Jackdaws grew louder as the rain grew heavier. The consensus of those who were present at last years dawn chorus walk was that this year was a bit subdued by comparison, unsurprising given the weather conditions this year. With the chorus easing down we started a wander around the Finger Lakes but were forced to take cover in Kramer Hide as the rain intensified.

Nesting Moorhen and Canada Goose were visible from the hide and a Little Grebe put in an appearance but the rain continued and a few of the group decided to call it a day and headed off leaving the rest of us to enjoy a cake kindly provided by Charlotte Tenneson. (Glen you have some serious competition!)

Finally the rain eased off so we took the opportunity to head back to the visitor centre, bagging a few more species on the way.

So after a fantastic bat walk the dawn chorus was a bit of damp squib and we didn't get out to 100 Acre as I had planned. Still there is always next year!

With all of the Hirundines in the park and the Swifts too I am often asked to identify which is which. It's not always easy with these fast, acrobatic little birds but here are a few pictures to help you out.

Firstly the Swallow, slightly larger than the 2 Martins with an all dark head and back with a white breast. the colours cannot always be identified easily when they are zipping about in a bright sky so I'm going to skip those for the most part. The long tail streamers are also diagnostic.

Swallow (here with on a single tail streamer, must have lost one somewhere!)

The House Martin is all white underneath including the chin. The back it dark with a white rump. The white rump is often quoted a feature to differentiate this species from its cousin the Sand Martin but you have to be careful as the acrobatic nature of the these species in flight can often make it look like a white rump is present when in fact it is the underside of the Sand Martin you are seeing as it twists and turns in pursuit of flying insects. So to confirm make sure you watch them carefully.

House Martin (note the white chin)

House Martin (Note the white rump)

The Sand Martin is similar size to the House Martin and is actually brown as opposed to the black/blue of the House Martin. However as previously stated these colours are not always apparent depending on the light conditions so watch carefully. The Sand Martin is mostly dark on the back with a partial white collar and all white underneath except for a thin brown breast band or chin strap depending on how you look at it.

Sand Martin (Note the partial white collar)

Sand Martin (Note the chin strap)

The Swift is a little larger than the Hirundines and is all dark with a slightly paler chin. Sorry no pic as yet.

EG was ringing in the Rough on the 9th and caught and ringed this little beauty.

Swallow

And finally the Great Crested Grebe family are doing great on the Finger Lakes with the 3 chicks growing well. If they eat like their parents they should do OK!

Great Crested Grebe swallowing a Tench

Summertime strolls - Guided Walks

Click on the link below for details of a couple of evening guided walks:

Summertime Strolls with a ranger

If you would like to join us for these walks please make sure you book via phone or email.

Dawn Chorus Walk on Sunday 14th May

PLEASE NOTE: Just to confuse things there are 2 dawn chorus walks in the park on Sunday! The RSPB local group are also running a dawn chorus walk starting at 5am, details here: RSPB Local Group dawn chorus walk.

The annual Priory Country Park dawn chorus walk begins at 4am. (We are hardcore! 😀) Anyone attending this walk please note that the 4am start time means you could find the barrier to the car park closed if you arrive before I do. If this is the case please wait in the small parking area, to the left of the entrance by the recycling skips, until I arrive. Meet outside the cafe as normal. Thanks, Dave.

Sunrise

May Day bank holiday weekend

The last couple of weeks have seen some interesting birds passing through the park and neighbouring 100 Acre. The previous weekend saw a brief visit to 100 Acre by a Curlew. It dropped in unseen and left soon after, I managed to get this record shot as flew off.

Curlew

I spent sometime photographing the Little Grebes on 100 Acre and was lucky to have a Common Sandpiper land nearby where I managed a record shot.

Common Sandpiper

Little Grebe eating a fish

Down it goes!

A Whinchat showed up on 100 Acre the same day I photographed the Little Grebes but I had to wait until the following day to catch up with it. Again just a record shot as it perched up on a fence post.

Whinchat

On the way back from the Whinchat JA spotted a Wheatear on the west side of the big lake.

Wheatear

 A pair of Grey Wagtails at the Sewage Works Bridge had a couple of youngsters and the adult female spent her time on guard duty.

Grey Wagtail

On Sunday 30th April I had a big turn out for the monthly Guided Walk and we had a good morning capped by the arrival of a Grey Plover while we were out on 100 Acre looking for the Whinchat. There were also a lot of Butterflies active and a single Small Copper was the highlight of those.

May day saw a switch in the weather with strong easterly winds and heavy showers. This brought an influx of passage migrants and on Monday morning the main lake was home to 3 Black Terns, single Arctic Tern and a single adult Little Gull.

Black Tern

Black Tern

Black Terns

The Black Terns remained stubbornly out by the island limiting the photo opportunities but the Common Terns came closer to shore and continued to entertain during one of the heavy showers.

Common Tern

Common Tern

Common Tern

Of the residents a number of Mallards have young now. Both Coots and Moorhens also have young. A pair of Egyptian Geese have 3 young and a Greylag pair has six goslings. All the summer migrants have arrived now with the most obvious, the Cuckoo, seen and heard regularly around the park at the weekend. Reed Warbler numbers continue to increase and can be found burbling away in the reed beds while Willow Warblers numbers have dropped again as they continue their journeys north. The Grey Heron nests all contain young of various sizes.

And finally the new Tern raft has seen interest from several Common Terns, hope to see some using it for nesting in the coming days.

Guided Walk September 2016

Had a small group for the guided walk at Priory CP this morning. Sadly all but one person missed the Otter which showed up at about 08:50. The lucky individual who arrived first was treated to great views as the Otter popped up right in front of us and then swam across the main lake to the island. I saw it a few more times tight to the island but it disappeared before any of the later arrivals had a chance to see it.

The highlight of the walk was standing about 5 feet from a singing Cetti's Warbler but it still remained unseen in a bramble patch.

Good numbers of wildfowl on the Finger lakes with great views of Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall.

Quiet on 100 Acre but Snipe, Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Linnet were all seen which was a reasonable finale to the walk.

Other news from this week is that another illegal net was pulled from the main lake this week. Please keep your eyes peeled and report anything suspicious to the rangers.

The next guided bird walk is Sunday 30th October starting at 9am outside the cafe.

Guided Walk - 31st July 2016

It's been quiet around the park as is normally the case in the summer months. This weekend however has seen a real sign that the autumn migration is underway with Willow Warblers back in the park along with plenty of other warblers.

On Saturday I did my usual walk around with DK and as well as the Willow Warblers we had a couple of Lesser Whitethroats and a family party of Garden Warblers in the Rough.

This morning the number of Chiffchaffs was quite noticeable with birds calling from most trees along the main path and plenty more around the Finger Lakes. Before the guided walk got underway at 8am I had a quick look around Fingers with DK and we stopped in at the Rough to see how EG was doing with CES ringing session in the Rough. The ringing session had got off to a reasonable start with a few birds logged by the time we arrived and EG agreed to let me know how if they caught any birds to show the group on the guided walk. I headed off to collect the group and noted several more calling Chiffchaffs as I crossed the Meadow.

A small group of 11 joined me for the guided walk and after a quick briefing we headed off down the main path stopping off half way down to check out the birds on the main lake. About 8 Sand Martins were flitting about over the east end of the island and about 20 Swifts were busy feeding up overhead. Swifts are already starting to head south as are many other summer migrants. Chris Smart reported a Great Crested Grebe with a chick on the main lake earlier this week and Val spotted them over in the south west corner but even the scope couldn't do justice to the humbug coloured chick. Those who remained to the end had great views of the stripey headed chick when we looped around the south side of the main lake at the end of the morning.

Next stop was the Rough where EG had a Dunnock and a Wren to show us which was a little disappointing although there was more to come later. The group were also shown how the birds are captured for ringing.

We moved on heading down to the flower meadow and had a Great Spotted Woodpecker fly over us calling as it went. We didn't manage to spot the Lesser Whitethroat which DK had earlier in the Sheep Pen. We looped round to check out the Heron nest on Fingers. Somehow the Heron managed raise 3 chicks to a good size before we spotted them a few weeks ago. We had originally thought all three original nests had failed this year but not so. We think one of the pairs may have had a second attempt and were successful, hidden by the thick foliage of the Willow they were nesting in.

At this point the bird walk turned into butterfly walk as plenty of butterflies were out sunning themselves. Comma, Gatekeeper, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and one of the Whites were seen but the best was a Painted Lady, the first I have seen in the park for a while. A large hoverfly species also proved popular with the photographers in the group. Having just checked I now know it was Volucella pellucens. Common Blue damselflies were also numerous in the nettles.

Gatekeeper on Bramble

Red Admiral on Burdock

We headed up to the Sewage Works Bridge before a call from EG had us all heading back to the Rough where he had a bumper catch of birds. There were a handful of Chiffchaffs, a couple of stunning Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler and several Blackcaps. The star birds for the group were the tiny Goldcrest and a beautiful Treecreeper. Another net round added Robin and Blackbird to the species list. Most of the these birds were juveniles, exceptions being the Blackcaps which seem to have had a poor breeding season around here as the number of juveniles ringed has been well down so far. Thanks to EG and DH for another great ringing demo.

With time getting on some of the group departed and the remainder joined me for a loop around the main lake where, as well as the GC Grebe chick we added Holly Blue to our butterfly species list.

Thanks to everyone who ventured out with me today. The next guided bird walk is August 28th starting at 9am outside the visitor centre, or cafe as I should now call it!

And finally........

Some really sad news last weekend when an Otter was found drowned in an illegal Crayfish trap. The Environment Agency and Police have been informed.

Otter

Please note that you must have a license to trap Crayfish which you can get from the Environment agency. To get this your traps must comply with the EA specifications which would make them "Otter safe". Equally importantly you must have the landowners permission to trap so that would be the council for any of the waters in and around the park. For more details see EA web page about trapping Crayfish. I know of at least 7 traps that have been removed from waters in and around the park in recent months so this is a growing problem. If you see anything you think might be a trap please report it to the Police or the Rangers so we can get it removed before anything else gets killed.

Guided Walk and other bits and bobs from the weekend

This morning was the first of the 8am starts for the guided bird walks but we still had a great turnout. First up was a visit to the Rough where EG was on his 6th CES ringing visit of the year. Unfotunately this session was proving to be very quiet and all Ed could offer the group was a single juvenile Wren. As usual he gave a great demo and expalantion of the ringing process before showing the group the nets. He came back with another capture, another juvenile Wren! To make things worse he had already ringed this one earlier so it was quickly released.

We moved on to the Spit where we had good views of the remaining Mute Swan cygnet and the single remaining Great Crested Grebe chick. Predation has been the word of the spring this year with very few wildfowl chicks making it to adulthood so far. We also spotted the pair of Tufted ducks with 2 young fluff balls.

We stopped at the freshly re-painted Kramer hide and I challenged the group to spot the nesting Little Grebe. Admittedly it is a tough one to spot, even when I had setup the scope on the nest. The other adult Little Grebe was out front of the hide but playing equally hard to spot under a Willow.

We moved on again stopping to listen to 2 singing Blackcaps in the Long Hedge. A Treecreeper called a couple of times from nearby but didn't show itself.

At the Sewage Works bridge we stopped in hope of an Otter sighting but as usual we were a day late. DK and myself had great views of at least one Otter at the bridge on Saturday morning.

Otter

Otter

Otter

A Grey Heron was in the usual spot in the reeds on the corner of Riverside. The resident Cetti's Warbler sang loudly, as they do. It could still be heard when we were half way across 100 Acre. A stop on 100 Acre produced a nesting Great Crested Grebe, several Little Grebes, Oystercatcher and at least 3 broods of Tufted Duck youngsters. One of the Tufted Duck broods was at least 13, hard to know how the female could incubate that number of eggs successfully. A little further on and we had a Little Egret on the island. A Sedge Warbler was heard and gave brief views as it flitted from one lot of thick cover to another. A small pink flower was identified as Grass Vetchling.   

Back on the cycle track we came across another singing Blackcap, there were many about today, which showed out the clear for a few seconds before it disappeared back into the heavy cover across the other side of the track.

Further along the track we found several Bee orchids which had survived the mower. Lin had found them a few weeks back but it was good to show the group. 

Bee Orchid

A male Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly showed briefly before departing across the wheat crop. A female was more obliging, perching on a wheat stem and allowing me to get the scope on it so that everyone had great views. Yellow Wagtails were calling from the crops and showed briefly while a Skylark perched up on a head of Hemlock and gave great views as he sang.

At the Castle Mill end of 100 Acre we had good views of Little Egret and distant views of Green Sandpiper, Sand Martin and Swallow also showed well and Linnet and Goldfinch were in the are. Not sure where the juvenile Black-headed Gull has come from but presumably a pair have nested nearby.

On the way back we found a Marbled White butterfly in the same area as the Bee Orchids.

Marbled White butterfly

Back at the Sewage Works bridge I spotted a Common Tern carrying a fish and watched to see where it might be nesting. It headed towards the island on 100 Acre but disappeared from view before I could see if it dropped in there or not.

So another good morning out around the park and surrounding area. The next guided bird walk is Sunday July 31st, meet outside the visitor centre (maybe a cafe by then!) at 8am.

Juvenile Pied Wagtail on the Priory wall (Saturday)

Dawn Chorus Guided Walk - 15/05/2016

You don't really expect a hard frost in the middle of May but that's exactly what we had for the Dawn Chorus walk this morning. Of course that did mean we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and the birds did their bit too. Here's a short video clip by Chris Smart (crank up the volume and enjoy the soundtrack!):

After enjoying the dawn chorus we took a stroll around the Rough where Garden Warblers and Blackcaps were most in evidence. A Goldcrest was also heard singing here.

I had hoped the early start were give us a good chance of seeing the Otters at the sewage works bridge but we had to make do with Sedge and Reed Warblers singing in the reed bed below the bridge and a Cetti's Warbler singing a little further down the river.

Along the cycle track by the sewage works Common Whitethroats were in good numbers, their scratchy, cut-off song drawing attention to them.

100 Acre was an oasis of bird life as usual although the star birds from yesterday, in the form of Knot, Sanderling and Stonechat, had moved on. As well as all of the regulars we saw Common Sandpiper, Linnet, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Cuckoo, Little Ringed Plover and Yellow Wagtail. The song flight specialists, Skylark, Sedge Warbler and Common Whitethroat also performed well.

Here are a few record shots from Saturday morning:

Dunlin

Knot

Sanderling (left) with a couple of Ringed Plovers

Stonechat (100 Acre)

And a couple of other things:

At the beginning of the month the volunteers put in a good shift when replacing the steps by the wooden footbridge over the New Cut.

Volunteers test the new steps (Photo by: Daniel Fellman)

I encourage everyone to visit the park and enjoy the wildlife but if you do please put your litter in the bins provided. If it won't go in the bin then please take it home with you. Mr. Fox makes an awful mess if you leave bags of litter by the bins.

Litter in the park

During the recent warm weather the Rangers were spending most of their time litter picking. This is not what they are there for, they are there to manage the habitats to attract the wildlife we all go there to see. Also be aware of the terrible consequences littering can have on our wildlife:

Grey Heron starved to death because of ribbon wrapped around its beak. (photo taken at Biddenham Loop CP)

Guided Walk - 24/04/2016

The rain/sleet cleared through early on so we were treated to a few glimpses of the sun for today's guided walk although the wind had a bit of bite to it.

We started off by the main lake looking through the hirundines that were skimming over the water. They were mostly Sand Martins with a handful of Swallows and the occasional House Martin. A pair of Egyptian Geese have been nesting on the main lake island and have come off the island this weekend with 3 goslings from their six eggs. We also had another 4 Egyptian Geese flying around the main lake this morning. Before we moved on a Lesser Whitethroat was heard singing in the plantation between the Premier Inn and the car park.

Pair of Egyptian Geese with 3 goslings

Moving on to the Finger Lakes we had a Blackcap along the Spit and a single Reed Warbler singing in the Crescent reed bed. On West Fingers the Great Crested Grebe is finally sitting tight on the nest they were busily building last Sunday. Last week batch of 4 Coot chicks is down to 2 and another pair have 4 chicks. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard over towards the Sheep Pen.

Next stop was the Dead Seat where views were obtained of the Grey Heron which has been sitting on the nest for a while now. The other 2 Heron nests have been occupied at various times but mostly by birds just standing around.

At the gate to the Rough, Sedge and Garden Warblers could be heard in the Rough and we had good views of a couple of Chiffchaffs just the other side of the gate. Blackcaps were singing all around us which made it difficult to hear the other birds. We continued down past the Sedgewick Seat and cut through to the New Meadow to check out a Snake's head fritillary which I had spotted earlier in the morning. It's the first one I have ever seen in the park.

We cut back through to the flower meadow and I heard a Willow Warbler singing in the A Section so we cut through to the Navigation Channel pausing to listen to the Willow Warbler, unseen above our heads. While listening a Bullfinch called but despite circling the plantation we did not see either the Willow Warbler or the Bullfinch.

Across the Flower Meadow, now with a good quantity of Cowslips showing we reached the Kissing Gate where a Song Thrush was singing strongly. At the Sewage Works Bridge we stopped to listen to the Sedge Warblers singing in the Reed bed on either side of the bridge. We were also treated to several bursts of song from a Cetti's Warbler at the end of the New Cut. As usual it remained hidden but you can't miss that energetic burst of song!

As we looked for a Sedge Warbler in the reeds a Kingfisher flew upstream under the bridge. Then came one of the stars of the morning as a Peregrine flew over and then circled higher and higher above us before drifting off across the park.

We moved on to 100 Acre but there was little of note on the west side of the big lake. We did pick out a single Little Egret before moving over to the east side of the lake where we had a Common Sandpiper and a couple more Coot families. Little Grebes were seen and were calling regularly. A Common Whitethroat was singing from the hedge between the big lake and Meadow Lane GP. 

At the end of the Meadow Lane Hedge line we looked across the big lake and found a single Greenshank and a Redshank. There was a second Little Egret on the near shore. A couple of Wigeon still remain but will likely move on any day. Our final stop of the day was on the flooded gravel section just before Castle Mill and here we were treated to great views of Redshanks and Oystercatchers. Pied, White and Yellow Wagtails flitted about near the waters edge and a male Wheatear joined them. 

Record shot of a Yellow Wagtail seen on Saturday morning.

A single Swallow flew low over the grass on the opposite side of the water. Several Common Terns rested on the shore. Several Skylarks were heard and we finally spotted one as it climbed high above us singing it's heart out.

With that it was time to turn for home but we were not finished yet as we added Common Buzzard over the old settling lagoons on 100 Acre. We had great views of a Red Kite as it flew, from over the sewage works, low over our heads and then circled low just the other side of the hedge over 100 Acre.

Back at the mouth of the New Cut we heard a Treecreeper and had brief views as it flew across the sewage works bridge. And that really was it as we all headed back to the car park taking in a few more singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs along the New Cut as we went.

The next regular guided bird walk is on Sunday 29th May starting at 9am outside the visitor centre. Before then we have the Dawn Chorus walk on Sunday May 15th which starts at 4am and the first guided bat walk of the year on Friday the 20th May starting at 9pm. Please note you must book for the bat walk, for contact details click here.

   

Easter Weekend

With a storm on the way for later in the weekend and the Good Friday forecast looking good it was an early start on Friday to try to make the most of the good light. With 100 Acre still under water it was back to the Spit for another go with the pair of Great Crested Grebes on the Finger Lakes. Without a hide there is a lot more waiting involved for the birds to get used to my being there and, even then, they are still not approaching as close as I would like. Anyhow here are a some shots from the session which mostly turned into a Coot session!

Coot

Coot feeding

Great Crested Grebe

The Grebes didn't spend much time in front of me, in fact the female seemed very interested mating but the male looked less than interested, you might even say confused by the whole thing. They have built a platform from weed and reeds and the female kept posturing and laying down on the platform but the male refused to mount her and in the end she gave up. Hopefully the male will get the message and we'll have a nest and some eggs in the not too distant future.

The spot I am using for the photography is right on the border between 2 Coot territories and is a regular feeding area for one of the pairs so there was more opportunity to photograph the Coots. Unfortunately the territorial disputes were all too far away for any decent shots.

Saturday was grey and windy but did remain dry as forecast so I had a wander around the park with DK. We had all the usual stuff the highlight being the first good number of Sand Martins which peaked at ~29 over the main lake. Still no Blackcaps but there are several singing Chiffchaffs dotted around the park. A handful of Siskins are also still sticking around but I'm sure they will depart fairly soon. It has been a good winter for Siskins in the park. They have stayed throughout and have been seen most days.

On Sunday 15 people joined me for the guided bird walk. The forecast looked good for the morning but as usual it proved less than accurate. Things started well with ~20 Sand Martins over the main lake and a small party of Siskins on one of the Alders along the Spit. The Siskins were very confiding and hung around to give great views for everyone. They weren't put off by the group walking past and were still there when we came back a few minutes later. I'd managed to get some photo's of them in the same tree before the walk started.

Female Siskin

Female Siskin

Female Siskin

Further along the Spit I showed the group a very well used Otter spraint point. There was some very fresh spraint in evidence along with quite a few older ones. Otters tend to find an obvious place to deposit a spraint and this case it is an old mole hill. This acts as a territorial marker post for any Otters in the area.

Moving on we checked out the "Heronry" which is very slow to progress this year. After last years 2 nests we had been hoping it would continue to develop but so far only a single nest is consistently occupied. On that nest one of the birds has spent some time sitting this weekend so they might have eggs but it's not certain as yet. The other nest has been occupied at various times but not consistently.

A single female Teal and a pair of Shoveler was the best we could muster at the Kramer hide. Over on Kingsmead we had three Common Buzzards over the woods and Cormorants showing juvenile, non-breeding and breeding plumages which was most helpful.

No Otters at the sewage works bridge but the Cetti's Warbler did sing for us and Kingfisher did a brief flypast before we moved on to 100 Acre.

Along the cycle track I showed the group a beautiful Long-tailed Tit's nest before we moved onto 100 Acre and the weather caught up with us with a heavy shower and hail. We managed to stick it out and even found a rather miserable looking Redshank on the island during the heaviest part of the downpour. As it eased off we found a couple of Oystercatchers and various ducks including Gadwall, Wigeon and a pair of Red-crested Pochard. A Snipe gave brief views as it flew in and promptly disappeared in a clump of grass.

Having got a good soaking I gave the group the choice of continuing on or heading back and with another downpour looking likely the decision was made to head back.

It was a pretty good walk with a good number of species recorded, shame about the soaking but that's nature! The next guided bird walk is Sunday April 24th at 9am, meet outside the visitor centre, hopefully we should be inundated with summer migrants by then!

Guided Walk 28/02/2016

The guided walk was very well attended again this month and the weather was much more agreeable than last month. With Spring on the way I chose to focus on some of the bird songs and calls for this walk. It's a good time to start learning a few bird songs as many species are starting to sing as the breeding season begins. In fact with this mild Winter there have been reports of some species breeding already. After an initial scan of the main lake we headed across the meadow to the Finger Lakes and stood outside the Rough identifying the various songs and calls that could be heard, the best being Bullfinch calls and even a bit of "Trumpeting".

A circuit of the Finger Lakes returned good views of Heron, Shoveler, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe. There were no Siskins to be found in the Alders around the Crescent reed bed but one did fly over calling as we cut through to the Spit. A good size flock of Barnacle Geese flew over, seen briefly between the trees. There was little of note on west fingers just the remaining members of the Mute Swan family, down to 3 cygnets now. The adults are getting quite feisty so I suspect those 3 will be out of there pretty soon.

We finished the walk with a circuit of the main lake and were rewarded with views of a pair of Kingfishers chasing along the Leat in the south east corner. A detour along the riverside path to check out Fenlake Meadows bagged us a couple of Snipe which flushed from Fenlake and flew over the river and us, heading north into the park. The hoped for Stonechat was not to be found. From the south west corner of the main lake I picked out a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a few Common Gulls within the mixed flock loafing on the lake. Black-headed Gulls in all states of plumage from Winter to Summer can be found on the lake at the moment too.

We couldn't find the Egyptian Geese which are regular visitors to the island but I suspect they might breed on the island this year.

There was little else of note on the remainder of the walk and we finished back at the visitor centre having put together a reasonable list in a couple of hours.

In recent weeks a few more waders have turned up with the Redshanks on 100 Acre and Oystercatcher on the main lake island in the park. The Golden Plovers and Lapwings were still showing well over on 100 Acre up until at least Saturday the 20th February, the Golden Plovers numbering ~2500.

A family party of Otters has been showing well with the mother and 3 cubs regularly at the Sewage Works Bridge and sometimes on the main lake. A fifth Otter joined the party on Monday 22nd. I guess this would have been a male checking out the female to see if she is ready to breed but I didn't see them myself. The cubs should be dispersing soon as they are fully grown now. Hopefully they will remain close to home for a while so we continue getting regular sightings.

The next guided bird walk is on Sunday 27th March. Meet outside the visitor centre at 9am.

A belated update

It's about time I posted an update so here goes:

The most recent guided bird walk, last Sunday, was well attended with 20 people joining me despite a very wet morning. Despite the rain we racked up a good species list with excellent views of a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Little Egret and a Treecreeper being the highlights. The Treecreeper was a right little show off, very unusual for this normally secretive little bird. We finished off the morning at the Golden Plover flock on 100 Acre where ~3000 gave us a great display along with a few hundred Lapwings. Thanks to everyone who made the effort to join me on such a miserable morning. The next one is Sunday the 28th February at 9am, meet outside the visitor centre. Hopefully it will be a bit drier!

Today a few of the Sunday Volunteers spent the day coppicing the Willows along the edge of the main lake adjacent to the Finger Lakes. With the prevailing wind from the south it made for quite a cold and blustery day but we managed to get most of the older growth Willow coppiced leaving the the younger stuff for next winter.

Over recent weeks we have had quite a few good sightings in and around the park. A single male Goldeneye has been spotted on several days on the main lake. Pintails and Goosanders have put in more fleeting appearances. On 100 Acre at least one pair of Stonechats have been seen regularly. The Golden Plover flock has peaked at around 4500 which makes for a spectacular sight when they all get up in the air together. This weekend there were about 800 Lapwings which is about as many as I have seen here over the winter. Redshanks have arrived in the last couple of weeks and a couple of Dunlin spent a few weeks mixing in with the Golden Plovers although we didn't spot them this weekend.

Two Ring-necked Parakeets are providing a bit of colour, and noise, for the park with regular visits over the winter, the most recent being today when they flew over the visitor centre as we packed away the kit the volunteer group had been using. Earlier this morning I had great views of a flock of Siskins in the Alders by the Crescent reed bed and a brief stop by a Redpoll in the Rough was better than the usual flyover sightings we've been getting.

The various roosts in the park have generally been down in numbers this winter although the Jackdaws still provide quite a noisy spectacle when they all leave in the morning. The mild weather seems to have kept the Corn Bunting roost pretty small although when we did have a brief cold spell the numbers jumped to 46 on one morning. The Little Egret numbers also jumped up during the cold spell. Having been at 3 or 4 for most of the winter the numbers suddenly reached double figures and have remained at those levels since.

And finally, there has been a family group of up to 4 Otters in the Park and over the last several weeks, a mother and 3 well grown cubs. I finally caught up with 3 of the family this morning at the Sewage Works bridge.

Guided Walk Sunday 28/06/2015

Despite a wet morning we had a very good turnout for the guided bird walk on Sunday morning. While waiting for people to arrive I watched a Sand Martin visit the nest block on main lake island. This had all the hallmarks of a feeding visit as the bird flew directly to the block, went into one of the holes, and came out again after several seconds. Another bird also left either the same, or neighbouring hole, as the first bird arrived. This would be excellent news if it does turn out that Sand Martins are breeding in the park, we'll be keeping a closer eye on the nesting block other the next few days.

The guided walk started off with a scan of the main lake where we had the usual suspects including Mute Swans, Common Terns, Black Headed Gulls, Coots, Great Crested Grebes, Mallards and Tufted Ducks. The previous weekend we had 3 Oystercatcher chicks on the main lake island but there was no sign this week although on Saturday we did have 3 adults around.

Tufted Duck broods have also started to appear this week but they didn't show for the guided walk. There is one brood on the main lake with ~9 chicks and another on the finger lakes with a single chick.

Along the Spit on the Finger lakes we had singing Chifchaff, Blackcap and calling Treecreepers. A Green Woodpecker was calling regularly, probably a youngster and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker was up on the snag above the Dead Seat, giving good views in the scope. The Grey Heron chicks have fledged in the last couple of weeks and the nests are now empty. Let's hope they return next year.

Reed Warblers were quiet in the Crescent and we struggled to get a view of a single singing bird, along the north side of the main lake, as it kept low down in the reeds. On Saturday we had excellent views of singing Reed Warbler on the south side of the main lake and it even stayed put when the cameras came out!

Singing Reed Warbler

Continuing the guided walk around the Finger lakes we had a singing Garden Warbler on the edge of the Rough and Blackcaps up by the gate. There was another singing Garden Warbler in the Sheep Pen but despite hanging around trying to get a view our reward was just a brief sighting as it flew between patches of scrub.

Down towards the kissing gate on the flower meadow another Reed Warbler could be heard singing along the Navigation Channel. Up on the Sewage Works bridge a Sedge Warbler was seen and the usual brief view of a Kingfisher. Sedge Warblers have been seen feeding young in the reed bed below the bridge, but just the displaying bird over on the edge of the river today.

Next stop was 100 Acre although we did have good views of a Common Whitethroat along the edge of the Sewage Works as we made our way there. Common Terns are very active around 100 Acre island although the chicks seen last week stayed out of sight this weekend.

At the end of 100 Acre the Little Ringed Plovers have chicks. Unfortunately, due to the rain, they were less active than on Saturday with just one seen running about feeding. There were 2 adults sitting and I suspect the other chicks were underneath staying warm and dry. On Saturday we had 3 Adults and at least 4 chicks.

Those were the highlights of the guided walk and the weekend as a whole. Please note that there is no guided bird walk in July so the next one is 30th August starting at 8am outside the visitor centre.

Volunteers and Dawn Chorus Walk

On Sunday 3rd of May the Vols were in the park clearing out the Leat Stream between the Leat Pool and the pipe under the footpath. The usual good turnout, despite the heavy rain that greeted us at the start of the task, meant we managed to get the whole section cleared. A job well done by everybody.

That morning I walked around the Finger Lakes with DK and was lucky enough to hear a Cettis Warbler singing as we walked by the Navigation Channel. We both stopped and listened some more and it finally sang again. It sounded like it was over by Cardington Lock so we headed round there and after a long wait were rewarded with a couple of bursts of song over by the weir. It's been a while since we had a Cettis in the park so this was a very welcome addition to the 2015 list.

On bank holiday Monday morning I was down on 100 Acre very early for a photography session with the Little Grebes:

Riding the wave!

Breakfast

Little Grebe

Mallard family

Mute Swan

This weekend it was another early start, on Sunday morning, for the Dawn Chorus guided walk. This year the weather was kind with a light breeze early on and a beautiful sunrise:

Finger Lakes dawn by Chris Smart

Ranger Jane and myself were joined by six bleary eyed souls at 4am to experience the park waking up. We started off down at the Dead Seat by west Fingers where the Jackdaws and Crows in the Corvid roost were already discussing their day and the Robins and Blackbirds were trying to get their points across. These were soon joined by a couple of Garden Warblers which also seem to be early risers. It was nice to listen to them with the complication of Blackcaps which some people find difficult separate on song alone. The Blackcaps seem to be later risers and didn't join the chorus until it was reaching its peak. Song Thrush, Wren, Chaffinch, Blue and Great Tits all came on line as the chorus continued, meanwhile some of the early risers stopped singing and headed off for breakfast.

The Corvid chatter was a constant background throughout the chorus. We also had a nearby Treecreeper calling and a bat put in an appearance for while. As the light levels came up 6 Little Egrets left their Finger Lakes roost and a Couple of pairs of Coots went to war as neighbouring Coots often do.

With the peak of the chorus subsiding we moved to the Spit where a Sedge Warbler was just getting warmed up. The Reed Warblers were already well into their stride, burbling away in the Crescent reed bed. A family of Coots mimicked human life with the adults out and about getting breakfast while the kids remained tucked up in the nest.

At the end of the Spit the nesting Mute Swan looked like she may have chicks under her as she was spreading her wings a little to make sure everyone was covered. Hopefully we'll see the family out and about in the next few days. The pair of Grebes have still not settled on a nest site and continue to scout the lakes. A Cuckoo flew to the snag on the Spit but departed straight away so we didn't get great views. We checked out the Crescent reed bed where good numbers of Reed Warblers are now in residence. A Reed Bunting was singing nearby.

Our next stop was on the east side of Fingers to view the Heron nest and we were lucky to have good views of 2 checks on the first nest. The second nest looks to be a none runner as neither adult was on it although one was still standing close by.

We headed off to 100 Acre where we were treated to views of a couple of Lapwing chicks, the first of the year. A male Shoveler was dozing nearby. Red Shanks were active around the big lake along with Common Terns and Swifts. At the far end of the big lake we added Shelduck, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Kingfisher, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers to the morning list.

A cool breeze was strengthening by this time so we headed back to the park where good numbers of Swifts were active over the main lake and Fingers. After tea and croissants in the Visitor Centre it was time to start the day!

Thanks to all who joined me on the Dawn Chorus walk this year, if you fancy getting to know the parks birds but can't drag yourself out for a 4am start then why not join us for the one of the regular bird walks. The next one is on Sunday 31st May at 9am, meet outside the visitor centre.