Recent happenings

It's been a bit quiet on the bird front in recent weeks, not uncommon at this time of year. Migrants are on the move however and it's just a matter of finding the flock. The most recent guided bird walk was a bit like that with several small roaming mixed flocks located containing Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers as well as various Tits and Finches and the odd Treecreeper or two.

DK had a Spotted Flycatcher in the Rough during the guided walk but we didn't manage to relocate it with the group. Kingfisher and Little Egret on 100 Acre were the other highlights from the guided walk.

This weekend was much the same. The Little Egret seems to be a regular at the north end of the big lake on 100 Acre. Otherwise it's all about the mixed flocks!

On Sunday it was the latest volunteer day and we were out by the labyrinth clearing the cut grass from the flower meadow. At the same time we cut back the Blackthorn that was encroaching on the Meadow. A good turnout of volunteers and this task was knocked off before lunch! Following are a few photo's kindly provided by volunteer Jenny.

Raking the meadow

Cutting back the Blackthorn

More raking

And yet more raking

Tea break

A well earned cuppa!

The secondary task was to clear the vegetation from the priory wall, a scheduled ancient monument. It's a shame in some ways as the Ivy and other plants growing on/in the wall provide habitat for birds which like to feed on the Ivy berries over winter. That said all of the growth is damaging the wall so it needs to be cut back. Later weed killer will be applied to kill off the remaining growth enabling the wall to be restored eventually.

The next volunteer day is Sunday 6th October starting at 9am. We work through until 3pm but if you fancy coming along and can only do part of the day then please feel free to join us for whatever time you can spare.

The next guided bird walk is Sunday 29th September and we are back to a 9am start. Hopefully we should have a few migrants about!  

Saturday 17th August

Well it was another quiet morning in the most part. Finding the flock was the order of the day. The first one was in the Alders by the Crescent, a number of Tits, Chiffchaffs and Reed Warblers were moving through the area. A nice start but nothing compared to what we found in the South West corner of the park later on. In one of the Willows we found some Chiffchaffs so we stopped and scanned the tree and it soon became obvious that the tree was loaded with small Warblers and Tits. As we scanned they started to move off into the next tree across one of the fishing swims. This gave us a chance to count and we ended up with 17 Chiffchaffs and 2 Willow Warblers along with Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits and a couple of Robins. These are minimum numbers as there were others in the thicker scrub behind us that we could hear calling. One of the Willow Warblers was really yellow in colour and showed quite well:

Willow Warbler

Total Chiffchaffs for the morning was 29! Thanks to DK for that. Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and a Kingfisher were also seen. Green Woodpeckers are still active around the park and this Great Spotted Woodpecker posed at the top of the snag up by the STW bridge.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

So a quiet morning but that flock of Warblers was great to see. Next week is the guided bird walk on Sunday morning (25th). Meet at 8am outside the visitor centre.

For anyone interested in bats there is a guided bat walk this week on Friday 23rd at 8pm. You will need to book in advance for this as numbers are limited due to the number of bat detectors available. Please contact the Ranger if you would like to book. Tel: 01234 211182.

This weekend in the park

On Saturday I arrived reasonably early and had a Buzzard over the east side of the park before moving on to the beach where a Mute Swan gave me the opportunity to try for an "On Black" portrait. With the sun low in the east and the Swan in a pool of sunlight and the background in shadow you can underexpose the scene leaving the emphasis on your white subject:

Mute Swan on black

In the above shot I would have preferred the head to be turned the other way in order to catch the light on the eye but I really like the line of water droplets falling from the beak. Another portrait of the same bird below:

Mute Swan on black

It was a weekend for Peacock Butterflies which were out in force around the park on both days.

Peacock Butterfly

This Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly perched on a nettle and stayed long enough for a quick snap.

Black-tailed Skimmer

Another nice find was a Common Sandpiper on the Canoe Slalom, sharing it with a single Grey Wagtail.

Sunday morning there was a lot of fish activity in the north east corner of the main lake. This Common Tern took full advantage, making a dive incredibly close to the reeds before making off with its prize.

Common Tern

Along the Spit this juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker perched on the dead tree and posed nicely for a while. Note the red crown which marks this bird out as a juvenile. Note also the way it is using its stiff tail feathers for extra support as it grips the branch with its feet.

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

A Greenshank passed high over the main lake and looked like it may have dropped in on the south side or possibly Fenlake Meadows. A Kingfisher was heard on both days around east Fingers. Sparrowhawks were seen on both days around the Rough and a Kestrel was on the wires over 100 Acre. I had a single Swallow over the New Meadow on Sunday morning and an Oystercatcher was heard during the lunch break of the volunteer session.

DK had a Goldcrest on the south side, a Willow Warbler singing in the SW corner and two additional juv Sparrowhawks together on the south side.

Sunday was also volunteer day and ~13 people turned out for the main task which was to remove the Water Soldier from the Finger Lakes. This invasive weed has really taken over in recent years and if left would smother the lake prevent other plant species from getting a look in.

With such a good turnout there were plenty of bodies to carry out a few other tasks so parties were out trimming back overhanging branches and brambles and clearing up litter.

At the end of the day several boat loads of Water Soldier had been removed but there is plenty more left to go! Thanks to everyone for your efforts and hope to see you again next month.