SUNDAY 6th June (John Keeling - Martin Grant)
Barn Owl hunting in the evening towards the back of the wetland. Single male Ruddy Duck displaying. Male Tufted Duck and male Yellow Wagtail. Also seen: Tawny Owl 2, Corn Bunting and 2 pairs of Canadian Geese with 6 young. Monday 7th June (Steve France)
2 Ruddy Duck, Coot with young. Corn Bunting, Lapwing and Wren in the hide. Tuesday 8th June (Jon Lloyd) Fantastic day, the warmest days this year. I dropped down to the Wall early evening. The pools were fairly quiet but good to see that the Tufted Duck that have been turning up more recently were still evident. Two males and a female on the pools today but not together! Mallard, Canadian Geese, Moorhen and Coot with chicks and only a few Black Headed Gulls sitting on nests. The water levels have dropped and some of the early nest sites I guess were now easily approachable by land and by predators. Still two Little Grebe about but couldn't see any chicks. The Little Owl was sitting on fence post in the field opposite the farm gate. I haven't seen it here for a while and a Tawny Owl called from the beech tree on the road just down from the farm. No sign of the Barn Owl tonight. Saturday 12th June Great day, but this week at the Wall seems a bit quiet for birds and birdwatchers, so not much to report during the week. My walk today was good, made better for the wonderful wildflower meadows with plenty plants in flower and a number of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies to brighten up.
The Glebe is always worth a visit. This is old name for the Hawthorn paddock as I used to call it. Plenty of small birds here including fully fledged Long Tailed Tit. I caught a brief glimpse of Kingfisher here on the Strine. Plenty of Skylarks out on the eastern fields but no sign of Yellow Wagtail out here. The pools were quiet but did get some exciting moments watching two Little Grebe. They seem to be going through some strange ritual perhaps before mating. They found a small tump of rush above the water level one bird climbed on it. No room for the other bird who seemed disinterested. Meanwhile the bird stretched its neck out and dropped its head so it level with the water and extended, a bit like the posture of Canadian Goose when its trying to avoid being seen. The other bird paid no attention but kept close. This went on for several minutes. The bird on land trying its best encourage interest , then giving up, then repeating the action. I never seen this before. Unfortunately there was no clear lie to the birds with the camera so the shots are to some extent through rush and other vegetation but you can see the postures. There were still Black headed gulls on nests. A Carrion Crow dropped in looked around moved into cover and came out with a sawmill parcel which looked like a chick of some small bird perhaps Reed Bunting. A pair of Ruddy Ducks floated around on one of the far left pools. They have been around for a few weeks now and I think there is a good chance they are breeding. Three Mute Swans fed in the open water and there were two families of Canadian Geese with young, 6 in all. Usual small birds, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackcap, and Willow Warbler. Swifts and swallows over the pools.
|
