Saturday 11th June 2011

Nothing special this week although a Garden Warbler was singing in the car park when I arrived. There were also a lot of Swifts over the main lake (~50). The pairs of Mute Swans on the main lake and Fingers both have broods of fluffy youngsters, but the biggest surprise, on my return from holiday, was the Fingers Grebes. So much for 1 or 2 youngsters, they have 4! Also Coot families with 3 and 4 young on Fingers, they seem to be doing well this year, unlike the Moorhens. I also had 2 Cuckoos before meeting up with DK and JA, one over on the south side of the main lake and one in and around Fingers.

JA joined me for a walk along the 100 Acre side of the river where we had a single Kingfisher heading downstream. Also 2 Redshanks, 2 Oystercatchers and a Common Buzzard.

Back to the park and alongside the Long Hedge before Fingers JA spotted a Small Skipper butterfly in the nettles, which also held any number of insects including loads of Ladybird larvae, damselflies and Scorpion Flies.

In the Rough we met up with DK and the ringers. EG was have a good mornings ringing again having just extracted another 6 birds from the nets as we arrived. While chatting we heard a Lesser Whitethroat sing briefly. Earlier EG had a Turtle Dove purring in the Rough.

Bird Ringing - CES Visit 4 - 05/06/11

CES VISIT 4 today 05/06/11: 47 birds of 14 species (retraps in brackets)

Robin 4 (0) - all juveniles
Blackbird 0 (1) - fledged last year and a regular
Whitethroat 4 (0) - 3 juveniles and an adult
Chiff Chaff 5 (0) - 3 juveniles, 2 adults
Garden Warbler 1 (1) - adults of both sexes
Blackcap 5 (0) - 3 juveniles, 2 adult males
Great Tit 2 (0) - both juveniles
Blue Tit 13 (0) - 9 juveniles, 4 adults (including one in moult)
Chaffinch 2 (0) - 1 juvenile and one adult male
Dunnock 1 (2) - one juvenile and the retraps were adults
Wren 0 (1) - fledged last year
Long Tailed Tits 3 (0) - 3 juveniles
Coal Tit 1 (0) - a juvenile and only the second of this species ringed at Priory
Green Woodpecker 1 (0) - an adult male

Very good totals for this site.



Above: This juvenile Coal Tit is only the 2nd bird of this species ringed here (the first being in September 2010).



Above: A Green Woodpecker (my bird of the day).

For more info (including more photographs) of these birds and other sessions, please click here.

Thursday 26th May

It was a mammal morning with Mink, Fox and Stoat all seen on a quick walk around the park. The Mink was spotted from Kramer hide having just raided a Coot nest I think. The resident pair of Coots were going mad but I couldn't see what was going on as their nest is hidden by reeds. The Mink was spotted heading towards the island on the left of the hide, coming from the direction of the Coots. It had something in its mouth, which was probably a Coot chick.

The Fox was on Kingsmead, almost hidden in the long grass. It was getting a hard time from a group of Crows, one of which carried a stick over towards the Fox and dropped it close to it! I have read and seen Crows using tools and dropping snails and the like from a height onto hard surfaces to break them open, but weapons!

The Stoat shot across the path in front of me as I walked along the north side of Fingers towards the Rough.

Very windy again this morning but all the regulars were about, Cettis Warbler and Cuckoo both heard. At the STW reed bed a very agitated Wren was standing guard over a tiny fledgling. Reed and Sedge Warbler heard here also. Good views of a singing Sedge Warbler were had on the south side of the main lake where it perched in a small Willow between a couple of the fishing swims. A single Sand Martin was seen, earlier, along the navigation channel. Still plenty of family parties of Tits around the park, given away by there calling youngsters.