Stanwell Moor - 17 May 2013

There was no forecast for rain but thick cloud made for an overcast, dull and chilly morning with the ever present wind. The water level in the lake had dropped an inch or so surprisingly, after the rain over the previous few days - but waders were still necessary.

We set a run of three in the reedbed, two on the bramble lined spit, two in a newly cleared ride, with a net between the lake and the access road and one final single in one of the old filter beds.

 

Filterbed 60'

 

New double - 50'40' or 60'30'. 

It was good to get a few Reed Warblers,including some from previous years and there were also retrapped Robins and Lottis but there was nothing exceptional.  Towards the end of the session Swifts were feeding low over the lake but of course they merely appeared to use our net to skim to the left, right and above it showing off their considerable aerial prowess.

 Hobby and Cuckoo were present during the morning, with an Oystercatcher flying over.

Totals:  7 (9)

Dunnock - 2 (0)
Robin -  0 (2)
Reed Warbler - 4 (4)
Blackcap - 1 (0)
Long-tailed Tit - 0 (3)

Ivinghoe Beacon & Pitstone - 16 May 2013

A day with potential for butterflies, so I headed off to Ivinghoe Beacon. You could tell the spring has been bad, as the number of people utilising the semi decent weather meant there were more people than expected wandering around the Beacon looking for Dukes. At least 4 Duke of Burgundy were seen, one which was all but expired, together with a couple of Grizzled and three Dingy Skippers, three Green Hairstreaks, together with Orange Tip, Brimstone and Large White.

 Grizzled Skipper

Green Hairstreak

Duke of Burgundy

Dingy Skipper

After a brief visit to the local garden centre cafe, a turn around the old quarry at Pitstone in the hope of an early Small Blue, was almost rewarded, but it was seen by someone else after I left, but there were at least seven Dingy and five Grizzled Skippers, four Green Hairstreaks, together with Brimstone and Red Admiral.

Dingy Skipper

Grizzled Skipper

Church Norton, Pagham Harbour & Stansted Forest - 13 May 2013

It is years since we last visited this area but we managed to found our way and even found that there was more parking than when we used to go. There was no rain forecast but the wind was stronger than the previous day and dark clouds were never far away.

 Church Norton - site of a Norman fort

 Rising tide next to Church Norton

Sea Kale

 Threatening skies

 Herring Gulls

Coastal reedbed
 

 Looking to the right - sunlight sparkling on the sea

Looking to the left - dark clouds and sea

 

Sandwich Terns (distant)

There wasn't too much about, apart from some Terns (Sandwich, Common and Little) and large numbers of Dunlin shuttling back and forth along the beach as the tide came up. 

We moved on to Siddlesham Ferry end of Pagham Harbour, now an RSPB reserve?

 This female Orange Tip was photographed along the coastal path.

Shelducks, Curlew and a single Whimbrel were seen.

We seem to recall there being less vegetation and more birdlife in years passed. So we dropped in at Fishbourne then on to Stansted Forest. We went for Pearl-boardered Fritillary and were treated to an unexpected Bluebell spectacular, even 'though we found no butterflies.

Noar Hill & Farlington Marshes - 12 May 2013

The wind was too strong, from the wrong direction and it was rather cold - but I had booked an overnight stay in Arundel so we decided to go anyway.

We started at Noar Hill hoping for Dusky Skippers and Green Hairstreak, as well as a chance of Duke of Burgundy butterflies. The wind was tearing up the hill and try as we might we could find no Hairstreaks or Skippers in the few sheltered areas. As the morning drew on, we listened to a Tree Pipit singing from the top of one of the scattered bushes and watched it perform the descending flight display.

 

Tree Pipit

We did manage to find some Duke of Burgundys and they were quite obliging - partly due to the low temperatures, even when the sun shone.

 Duke of Burgundy

The Cowslips were in bloom all over the hills.

Cowslips

We then moved on to Farlington Marshes and set off to do a circuit of the reserve. The wind was freshening and we had little hope of finding much in the way of migrants as the clouds bunched overhead. There were seventeen Black-tailed Godwits on the pools and sixteen Whimbrels high tide roosting on a single bar in the harbour. Cetti's and Whitethroat were heard, but they stayed well down in the vegetation. The Swifts were whizzing back and forth over the pathway and came quite close giving fantastic views.

 Farlington Marshes reserve

 Gorse

High tide at Langstone Harbour

The rain started before we got all the way round. In addtion we had a Cuckoo, some Little Egrets and a Raven, which bathed in the pools, as we returned to the car. As the rain was now quite heavy we decided to leave it at that and headed off for our hotel in Arundel, which despite being slightly tired, at £34.50 with breakfast through Hotel Bookings was without doubt still a very good deal.

Holland Park, London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea - 11 May 2013

Yet another windy Saturday! Too windy for most of our local sites, with the risk of sharp showers thrown into the mix, but we were to join WH to do a demonstration at Holland Park. The wildlife area is fairly sheltered with well marked walkways, matured trees and a small pond teeming with tadpoles for good measure.

 

Wildlife area pond

We started well with 4 Blackbirds retrieved from a single net on the first net round. The birds trickled through, albeit limited to just a few species and the visitors were thrilled so see them close up. The wildlife seemed particularly tame and we had visits from Woodpigeons, Robins and a Squirrel that appearEd curious as to exactly what was happening on their patch.

 Woodpigeon

 Drake Mallard

 Grey Squirrel

We managed to avoid catching any peacocks or joggers - or to photograph any birds in the hand as we were very much engaged with the public. There were lots of questions to answer and there was a lot of interest in the way nets are constructed and erected. There were a few showers but they made little difference under the thick canopy.

The refuge area is just a short walk away from beautiful gardens.

 Kyoto Garden

 Fukishima Garden

 

Bonsai conifers

 Tulip beds

 This stunning mural can be found under the covered walkway close to the cafe and environmental centre.

Totals - 7 (4)

Blackbird - 2 (2)

Wren - 1 (1)

Blackcap - 4 (0)

Great Tit - 0 (1)

Visitors - 34

Stanwell Moor - 7 May 2013

It was a bad idea and unfortunately it was my (Denise) bad idea. The weather had been warm with light winds for a few days, and the forecast indicated that the good ringing conditions were due to take a turn for the worst very shortly. I thought it would be good to see what was happening in the evening and do a session at the end of the day.

It was interesting to watch a mixed hirindine flock, mainly House Martins, taking airborne insects above the lake, notice a couple of Wagtails pass overhead and even note that the Lapwings had already hatched a few chicks out around the flash (where we couldn't venture due to the nesting birds). We also watched the resident cob, again seeing off the Canada Geese - obviously still insistent that they should also get some lake time. It was not however good for catching birds around the lake where we spent 4 hours and averaged a bird every 80 minutes. Enough said!

Totals - 2 (1)

Blackbird - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 1
Blackcap - 1 

Homefield Wood - 6 May 2013

As it was a bright sunny day, something not seen much of this year so far, and potentially some butterflies would be out, plus it was on the way, sort of, to Chinnor where we were meeting GDB later on in a pub for lunch, we went via Homefield Wood. Butterlies were mainly confined to Orange Tip, Green-veined White and Peacock, with the odd Holly Blue and a couple of Grizzled Skippers.

There was a nice bonus of a singing male Firecrest, which gave brief views high up, together with the usual resident Buzzards and Red Kites.

Orange Tip (female)

Green-veined White

Holly Blue

Grizzled Skipper