No patch post for yesterday, as I went out on a days birding to bough beech reservoir and Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve, which made a nice change for me, thanks to my good mate for driving and paying for the pizzas afterwards :-)
Back to this morning however, I had a good visit overall, although I didn't add any new species for the month or year lists, the four hour full patch walk provided a very good tally of 48 species, just Coal Tit and Pheasant went unrecorded of the regular species, plus maybe Skylark and Yellowhammer may have been expected.
I had some good patch species on my list though, with 3 GOOSANDER on the small lake, 2 being females, the MUTE SWAN and COOT remain, giving hope that one or both species may stay to breed, plus a GREY HERON flew over the main lake. A pair of TEAL were seen in the Wet Woods, not often I see them there nowadays, also a MEDITERRANEAN GULL was picked out among the BLACK HEADED GULLS on the sheep pasture at Migrant Alley, LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL and HERRING GULL were also recorded this morning, but only as flyovers.
The three resident raptor species were all seen, BUZZARD, KESTREL and SPARROWHAWK, plus the winter thrushes of FIELDFARE and REDWING were on the Ashes Lane Fields. There were a few SISKINS about in the Scrubby Woods and the LESSER REDPOLL flock were at the Small Holding, gathering before they move on to my nearby garden feeding station. A nice find was a flock18 GREENFINCHES at the Greenhouse Grounds, not had that many here for years!
Images today are from my outing yesterday.
This Magpie had found itself a dead duck of some description
These much maligned birds do a great deal of the 'clearing up' in the countryside, preventing the spread of disease.
Canada Goose preening in some nice light
This Grey Heron was incubating eggs, an early breeder.
Great Crested Grebe. Unfortunately the victim of a fishermans carelessly discarded hook and line.
You'd think the Angling club at Sevenoaks wildfowl reserve would have a monthly meet, where they could go out in a boat and retrieve all the hooks and lines from the overhanging trees.
The Robins are tame at the Sevenoaks reserve :-)
7 comments:
"Much maligned birds" - tell that to the Robins in my garden last year that lost a nestful of chicks to the pests. I was furious and will not hesitate to "remove" Magpies from my garden this year.
By the way, if you're that desperate for a pheasant I can bring some over, they release them by the thousand here so people can add them to their lists.
.............Victorian attitude.........
Derek, that's nature
Warren....I appreciate you won't want people like me to make comments on what your followers and commentators say, but if I may just this once. I just wish Derek would come on other peoples blogs and make constructive comments sometimes instead of wanting to be rid of everything he decides doesn't fit into the whole.
The incubating Heron is brilliant and I'm worried about your Great-crested Grebe and the fisherman's hook and line.
Warren - I reported the Great Crested Grebe to the reserve on the 2nd February - I photographed it on Long Lake on the 1st Feb (see my Flickr for image https://www.flickr.com/photos/103689821@N02/) - I would have thought they might have managed to do something by now
Graham,
The KWT at sevenoaks, at least, is more interested in creating nice places for families to picnic, rather than helping the wildlife out, they have lost the plot somewhere down the line!
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