Black and Langley Parks - 6 May 2011

A visit around the park mid week is always pleasant, so leapt on the bike and had a ride around. We had tried mid winter to catch duck through bank side feeding without any luck of even getting them near the bank, today a mum and her child not only got them to the bank but had them on the path - plan hatched, a re-visit planned with net and rings! Eight male Mandarin seen and at Langley Park there was a pair of Egyptian Geese with 3 goslings.

 

 Male Mandarin

Male Orange Tip

Staines Res and Moor 5 May 2011

The reservoir was quieter during my visit with 15 Black Tern and two Little Gulls present and the Moor had a pair of Hobby and a single Wheatear.

Staines Res - 4 May 2011

A visit for an hour or so provided the Great Northern Diver,  two Black-necked Grebes, five Black Terns with eight Arctic Terns and five Little terns passing through.

Stanwell Moor ringing site - 3 May 2011

A ringing session this evening was slightly more productive than the last and we managed to catch a couple of Sand Martin on the mound. We total we caught  in addition to the two new Sand Martins, one new Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Robin and Whitethroat. We had four re-traps including three more Reed Warblers, tow again from 2009 which were again not re-trapped in 2010.

Our first Swift of the year was seen along with a Cuckoo.

Male Reed Bunting

 Male Whitethroat

North Norfolk - 1 May 2011

A quick visit first thing to North Creake area for Harriers produced for us a Marsh Harrier plus females of both Hen and Montagu's Harriers.

A visit to Choseley found us failing to find the Dotterell, even with some better location information later on a second visit still indicated that the last three had probably moved on overnight.

A visit then to a very windy Titchwell and a relatively empty reserve produced a Pale-bellied Brent Goose, a male Red-cresetd Pochard and a White Wagtail.

Avocet

The effect of the wind on the broadwalk to the beach, disappearing under the drifting sand.

Minsmere - 30 April 2011

The first visit for a few years was rewarded with a nice adult White-winged Black Tern, which pleasantly was not anticipated and bumped into without prior knowledge that it was there. The day also gave us good views of Bittern, Water Rail, Nightingale (showing well for once) and Bearded Tit. Eight Mediterranean Gulls were also seen and seem tobe becoming more frequently seen in UK Black-headed Gull colonies. The slightly disappointing thing of the day, whilst they are a nice goose to see mid winter in flocks, virtually every bit of island habitat on the scrapes had a pair of Barnacle Geese on them.

A young brood of Mallards head towards Island Mere hide

Pair of Teal

One of the many feral Barnacle Geese nesting on the reserve.

Small Copper

Lakenheath - 29 April 2011

A visit on a bright sunny, but slightly windy day. A Bittern was heard booming as at least three singing Cetti's Warblers. Four male and two female Marsh Harriers were seen along with 35+ Hobbies, with a pair of Garganey and a Grasshopper Warbler seen singing from a hawthorn bush. At least one male Golden Oriole was in but not showing readily, and it seemed to be the same with the Cranes, as we were not lucky enough to see either species.

Joist Fen viewpoint - lots of Hobbies but no Cranes to be seen!

Green-veined White

Small Tortoiseshell

Red Admiral

Orange Tip (female)

A quick drop in on the way to Ipswich at Weeting Heath for Stone Curlew rounded the day off.