Update 21/09/2015

It's been a while since my last post so thought it was time for an update. The August guided bird walk was a bit disappointing from a species point of view. We had a very good turnout for an 8am start but the birds just didn't play ball. At the moment if you find a roving Tit flock you never know what you might find tagging along with them and a sunny morning always helps. Unfortunately during the guided walk we didn't get either so the species count was a bit down. A Kingfisher flypast on the Finger Lakes was a good start and most people managed to see it. We did have great views of a Kestrel and a couple of Buzzards on 100 Acre although we did have to work for the Buzzards as recent ploughing made the going rather tough.

In the last couple of weeks things seem to be improving a bit, especially on 100 Acre where Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Linnets are showing again and a flock of ~80 Lapwings flew in on Sunday morning. Fingers crossed for the September guided walk which is on Sunday 27th starting at 9am outside the visitor centre.

Last weekend a Kingfisher showed well outside the Kramer hide, even staying put for a few photo's.

Kingfisher outside Kramer Hide

This weekend a Common Sandpiper showed well in the duck feeding area. We normally only see these early in the morning before the park gets busy but this individual was still around mid morning and seemingly oblivious to passing people as it hunted for insects in the grass.

Common Sandpiper in the duck feeding area!

On 100 Acre last weekend we found this Wasp Spider. This is a relative new comer to the country but is spreading fast and although not a first for the county we do think it is the first for the park.

Wasp Spider on 100 Acre

In my last post I reported that the Little Grebe's I have been watching all summer had finally had a chick. I have been back twice since I posted but unfortunately I have to report that the chick did not make it. It was rather late in the year for a new chick to appear but I had expected it to survive. Sadly I have not seen any sign on either of my recent visits. Both the adults are still in the same area and appear fine although it was noticeable this week that the summer plumage was beginning to fade.

It was quite misty early on Sunday morning and there were up to 5 Coots in the bay with the Little Grebes. They were the first to show as the light levels came up.

Coot in the mist

The Little Grebes were actively fishing around the edge of the bay and I thought they might be catching invertebrates as they were sticking close to the reeds but this one was making a dent in the Stickleback population!

Little Grebe with Stickleback

Another Stickleback bites the dust.

We had a great turnout for the volunteer task at the beginning of the month and we started the thinning out of the W plantation (AKA the Woodland Walk). Plenty more work to do in there so we might be back again next month. Check out the blog for details of volunteering opportunities in the park, or give the rangers a call.

Saturday 22nd August

The highlight of Saturday morning was an Otter on the main lake. Found by DK and JA, who thoughtfully gave me a call so I could see the animal as well, it spent 20-30 mins out in the middle of the lake, east of the island, just fishing. In the end we left just as it headed off to the south east corner of the lake.

Record shot of the Otter

EG and DH were ringing in the Rough and catching reasonable numbers while we were there. Plenty of Blackcaps in the catch and the odd surprise.

Green Woodpecker (moulting everything!)

A Goldcrest and a Common Whitethroat were a couple of the other ringing highlights.

It was a good morning for Raptors with Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard and a distant Hobby all seen. We watched the Kestrel dive into a Willow and JA watched it feeding on a Dragonfly. It never ceases to amaze me how good their vision must be. It was across the other side of the river when it must have spotted the Dragonfly on a branch in the Willow!

A Common Sandpiper was heard on 100 Acre and along with a couple of Little Egrets was the highlight of that area.

As always at this time of year there are large areas of the park where it is quiet and then you come across a mixed flock of tits and warblers feeding in a particular tree and you might get 20-30 birds or more in a tiny area.

Sunday I went back to my Little Grebe spot on 100 Acre and was surprised to find they have finally hatched a chick. It's getting quite late in the year so hopefully the weather will hold up to give this little fellow a chance. Here a few pictures. (click for a full size version).

Adult (chick is on it's back hidden under the wings)

Chick peeking over the adults shoulder

Chick eating a small fish

Chick eating a Blue-tailed damselfly

Join us on Sunday morning (30th) for the next guided bird walk. Meet at 8am outside the visitor centre.

Recently in the park

It's the quiet time of the year as the summer migrants start heading off south and the autumn migrants are yet to arrive. Many of the resident species are going through their moults and keeping their heads down.

On Saturday 8th August I made my first visit to the park after my holiday and had a Cetti's Warbler where the Canoe Slalom empties into the Navigation Channel. The Cetti's we have had in the park recently have been surprisingly quiet for this species and this one was the same with just a couple of partial bursts of song betraying it's presence. There was a Common Sandpiper on 100 Acre.

On the following Sunday I had a Cetti's on 100 Acre where I had set up for another photography session for Little Grebes. This bird was much more vocal singing regularly for the first 3 quarters of an hour and then sporadically thereafter. The Little Grebes are still playing hard to get and despite there being 3 pairs around the bay none appear to have bred so there are still no young to be seen. In fact they still seem to be squabbling over territory!

 

Little Grebe eating a Stickleback

A Cormorant turned up and did a bit of fishing in front of me but only seemed to be catching small fish which were swallowed unseen.

Cormorant

Cormorant

 I had a Green Sandpiper fly over my hide calling and a Common Sandpiper was seen along with a couple of Little Egrets. Juvenile Sparrowhawks were calling from the trees over by Riverside Pond and were seen occasionally as they broke cover to chase around.

This weekend it was very quiet in the park but there were pockets of birds on Elderberries and Blackberries. Blackcaps were the bulk of these but we had Common Whitethroat, Chiffchaffs and there was a Willow Warbler in the car park, a rarity in the park!

Blackcap on Elderberries.

100 Acre was also quiet with a single Common Sandpiper the highlight of the birds. Highlight of the morning was a very fresh Otter Spraint and tracks on the border between 100 Acre and Castle Mill.

There is a bat walk walk coming up on Friday the 28th at 8pm. You need to pre-book this walk as it is very popular and numbers are limited.

The next bird walk is on Sunday 30th starting at 8am outside the visitor centre, hope to see you there.

Changing of the guard?

It looks like there might be a changing of the guard as far as the Finger Lakes Mute Swans are concerned. After years holding this territory Orange 500 and family moved out in the last couple of weeks. Having had 5 young last year one had disappeared in recent weeks and then another was killed by a dog leaving 3 still with the adults. They moved over to Cardington Lock for reasons unknown leaving the Finger Lakes free and this week a new pair seem to have moved in, Orange 180 and an unringed bird. They are constantly on patrol around their new territory but time will tell if they can hold on to it. Will Orange 500 come back and stake a claim or maybe another pair will try their luck. Something to watch over the coming weeks.

Last week the volunteers were in again on Sunday, working at the east end of the main lake coppicing the sections between the fishing swims and the plantation behind them. The sections between the fishing swims were hard going with lots of tangled rose and rotten standing wood to get cleared out. The volunteers did a great job clearing three of the sections and finishing off the plantation by the end of the day. Much of the brash was used for dead hedging in the plantation but the Willow was cut and stacked for use as binders for a future hedge laying task.

Birding remains quiet in the park. 100 Acre is still the star area with ~1200 Golden Plovers and ~1000 Lapwings up near the bypass recorded on Sunday 9th of February. 76 Barnacle Geese was a nice surprise here also on Sunday.

Barnacle Geese

Lift off - Golden Plovers

Golden Plovers above Lapwings below

Here are the numbers for 100 Acre: 09/02 (courtesy of DK):

Mute Swan (1), Canada Goose (3), Barnacle Goose (76), Wigeon (80), Gadwall (3), Teal (2), Mallard (2), Pochard (5), Tufted Duck (11), Pheasant (2), Cormorant (1), Little Grebe (5), Great Crested Grebe (1), Buzzard (1), Kestrel (1), Coot (9), Golden Plover (1200), Lapwing (1000), Black-headed Gull (90), Common Gull (1), Stock Dove (5), Magpie (4), Jackdaw (3), Rook (7), Carrion Crow (36), Blue Tit (2), Skylark (2), Chiffchaff (1), Starling (33), Blackbird (4), Fieldfare (1), Song Thrush (1), Robin (6), Dunnock (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Pied Wagtail (yarrellii) (1), Chaffinch (1)

And here are the numbers for the park: 09/02 (courtesy of DK):

Mute Swan (10), Greylag Goose (1), Canada Goose (27), Gadwall (18), Teal (2), Mallard (60), Shoveler (5), Pochard (40), Tufted Duck (44), Cormorant (17), Little Grebe (1), Great Crested Grebe (2), Sparrowhawk (1), Kestrel (1), Moorhen (3), Coot (60), Black-headed Gull (80), Common Gull (1), Stock Dove (2), Woodpigeon (7), Collared Dove (3), Kingfisher (1), Green Woodpecker (1), Great Spotted Woodpecker (1), Magpie (8), Carrion Crow (17), Blue Tit (8), Great Tit (7), Long-tailed Tit (3), Wren (2), Blackbird (21), Song Thrush (7), Redwing (2), Robin (6), Dunnock (1), House Sparrow (3), Chaffinch (8), Greenfinch (3), Goldfinch (14), Reed Bunting (2)

I spent the afternoons in Kramer hide at the weekend but failed to get a Kingfisher on the perch. In fact I only saw a Kingfisher once all weekend so I think the high winds must have put them off. Following are a few record shots I took while waiting.

Little Grebe starting to show summer plumage

Juvenile Grey Heron

Male Teal

Treecreeper

The water levels came up yesterday in the park flooding the path between the navigation channel and the Finger lakes. This all happened between my visit in the morning and returning in the afternoon and when I left at 5pm the levels were still rising with water pouring into the Finger Lakes and Kingsmead flooded.

I've seen some very strange choices in footwear for visiting the park recently. Yesterday a women in very nice suede boots won the prize. I doubt she got much further than Beach. For anyone coming down you really need wellies or at least waterproof walking boots. Although there is a gravel path around the main lake the south side has had standing water on some sections when it is not flooded completely. Off the path the trails are very muddy with standing water in many areas. On 100 Acre there is quite a bit of standing water and the end of Meadow Lane, by the cycle track, is flooded deep enough to challenge even those in wellies.  

Saturday 13/04/2013

Another dawn start but no Otter again. It was a beautiful start to the day though. An Oystercatcher was on the New Meadow when I arrived but flew as I walked along the main path.

Sunrise over the New Meadow

I set up along the Spit again and the light was great early on. I'd already seen a Water Rail in the Crescent and a party of 8 Redwings dropped into the tops of the Willows over by the Dead Seat, before departing towards the main lake.

4 Little Grebes were showing across the far side of west Fingers and a couple of them came a little closer allowing this shot of the 2 together.

Little Grebes

Up to 5 Gadwalls were on west Fingers although not particularly close this male looked good in the light.

Male Gadwall

A couple of Grey Herons flew past and I managed to capture one of them.

Grey Heron

DK and JA arrived and with DK's reports of new arrivals all week I was hoping for a bumper birding morning as we set off around the park. I'd already had 4 Chiffchaffs and we bagged a few more on our circuit. Blackcaps were a bit slow in coming but we found at least 3 in the Long Hedge by the Woodland Walk. A Willow Warbler was heard further along and we found 3 further along by the Kissing Gate.

On to 100 Acre and a quiet start with a couple of Teal on the small lake but we did a circuit hoping for a few waders and DK told us he had been seeing Red Kites over there during the past week. A couple of Lapwings were first up displaying over the big lake and they were joined by a couple more and a couple of Redshanks. There were a few Wigeons, Tufted Ducks, Little Grebes and a couple of Great Crested Grebes on there also.

Oystercatcher

Plenty of Skylarks are around so it would be good if dog walkers would stick to the well used trails and keep there dogs under close control as these and other birds are likely to be nesting on the ground soon. A couple more Redshanks were found and a Little Egret was spotted flying towards Willington Gravel Pits. We flushed a Snipe and an Oystercatcher gave us a nice fly past. A Kingfisher flew across the cycle track as we passed the STW.

Back in the park we had four Common Buzzards on a thermal over Kings Mead drifting north west. More Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs were seen and heard. Along the south side of the main lake we came across a male Blackcap and then another which turned into a group of 6, males and females. A Common Tern was passing up and down the south side of the main lake and another was over the Marina.

As we walked up the west side of the lake 3 Sand Martins came in from the west, the only Hirundines we had all morning. A Greenfinch was singing in the north west corner.

So I managed to bag a few migrants that I hadn't seen yet but there are still plenty more. 100 Acre is looking really good and hopefully I'll take the guided walk over there in a couple of weeks time.

Spring has sprung

Thursday - DK had a Sand Martin over the main lake early morning (c.07:30)
It is difficult to work out the number of Chiffs that are about as singing birds seem to be very mobile at present; best guess = 3.
The Little Egberts are coming in to roost after 17:30; there are up to 5.
There also seems to be far more Magpie nests (you divide by 2 to obtain the breeding pairs) this year than ever.
Of note are the Dabchicks, which are in their summer finery!

Saturday 12th December 2009

An unpromising start with a couple of short sharp showers passing through but it brightened up by the end of the morning and we had some great sightings!

Starting off there were 6 male Tufted Ducks on the main lake up by the Sailing Club, another 5 males and a female over by the hide. There were also 7 Pochard and an adult female Goldeneye on the main lake. A lot of Mute Swans, 40+, again today probably due to the shooting coming from the vicinity of Octagon lakes. We also had 42 Greylag Geese over just after we arrived and they appeared to drop in over Fenlake although by the time we got around there, much later, there was no sign. We also had 19 Lapwing over north.

Little Grebe with breakfast

On Fingers there were at least 12 Little Grebe, 9 on west Fingers, 1 on east Fingers and another 2 in front of Kramer hide. At Kramer hide we were treated to a swim past by an Otter. Unfortunately it didn't hang around this week but you never tire of seeing them no matter how fleeting!

I forgot to mention, in last weeks entry, that we had a Weasel on the east bank of big Fingers. Amazingly we had one again a little further along the same bank this week.

We had flyover Grey Wagtail and Bullfinch and, finally, great views in the scope of a party of Redwing (6) feeding on the berries at the car park.

Saturday 5th December 2009

We've been so lucky with the weather in recent weeks and once again the forecast rain was nowhere to be seen. At the car park 20+ Magpies flew over, west. There were 6 Tufted Ducks (2f) up by the Sailing Club.

7 Little Grebes

It was a Little Grebe day today with 6 on west fingers, 5 at the south end and 1 further up along one of the fingers. By the time we got to Kramer hide 5 Little Grebe had moved in and a further 2 joined them from the right. At least 1 of the earlier LG's was not present at Kramer Hide as it still had it's summer plumage making it easily identifiable. By the time we made it to the Dead Seat we spotted 2 LG's on west fingers, 1 being the Summer plumage bird. So there could be as many as 13 but probably somewhere between 8 and 13.

Little Grebe

There were still plenty of parties of Redwing blogging about and several parties of Long-tailed Tits. Treecreeper was heard along the navigation channel and in the Willows around Fingers, between the Steps and the Dead Seat.

Long-tailed Tit (one of EN's)

Kingfishers were very active with sightings around Fingers and 2 chasing about outside the main lake hide.

Very few Coot and Great Crested Grebe today although a single GCG had moved onto Fingers. A massive increase in the number of Gulls on the main lake this week with a lot of Common Gulls mixed in with the BHG's.

John had a solitary male Pochard and 2 pairs of Teal after I left.

ED: Forgot the Kestrel over the main lake island and the Sparrowhawk over Fingers.

This weekend at the park

On Saturday I spent the first part of the morning chasing around the main lake, trying to identify an interesting small grebe. I first saw it as it headed across from the west end of the island to the south west corner of the lake. It looked like a mini Great Crested Grebe from that distance which got my interest as I thought it might be a Slav. I hurried around to the fishing swim on the west side, in time to see the grebe take flight to the reed bed by the hide. I walked around to the first fishing swim beyond the hide but could not get a view of the reed bed so i went back to the hide and waited. Eventually there was some movement in the reeds and some tantalising glimpses but I still wasn't certain of the id before it disappeared again. I continued around the lake, meeting up with John on the way, but from one of the east side fishing swims we could see the grebe out in front of the hide so it was a hurried walk back to hide only to find it was a Little Grebe after all, confirmed by the whinnying call. Male Tufted duck also present.

On the way back around the south east corner of the lake a Migrant Hawker dragonfly posed on a branch and a Jay flew low over the trees at the back of the Leat. There seemed to be more GC Grebe this week but we could only count 10 although they were actively fishing so difficult to tell how many were underwater. Cormorant numbers grew through the morning to 32+, all actively fishing again for most of the morning.

At the Spit the highlight was a Water Rail at the north end, had heard another earlier in the south west corner of the main lake. There were 3 Gadwall on West Fingers. 28 Redwing over.

Errol and Ed were ringing in the Rough, see Errol's earlier blog. After a chat we headed to the Woodland Walk, a Common Darter dragonfly sat for his picture on the way. More 'peckered nest boxes were found along to the Woodland Walk (12 & 14) but little else. Back at Kramer hide we brief views of a Kingfisher but again little else.

On Sunday highlights were:

2 male Wigeon on West Fingers which departed when they saw me. 3 Gadwall again.

1 Goldcrest, with ring, by the Dead Seat.

EN was ringing, solo, in the Rough and reported a singing Blackcap. As we chatted a Chiffchaff burst into song.

At Meadow Lane GP there were 3 Teal and a couple of Common Sandpipers. 2 Kingfishers also put in an appearance.

Meadow Pipits and Sky Larks were common down towards the bypass.

Just a solitary Mute Swan on the Tern Pool. On the fields opposite 85 Greylag, 63 Canada and 32 Barnacle Geese.

Back in the park found nestbox 6, in the Sheep Pen, 'peckered. On my way back to the car park EN called to report a Water Rail on the main path.

Not much Redwing movement today.