12 Apr 22

Wakeham

A garden first today with a pair of Linnets in the back garden, with a male on the Nyjer Seed Feeder.

A male Linnet on the Nyjer feeder. Honest!!

The female looks on.

Unfortunately something spooked the male and it took off and landed on the Fig Tree.

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Lodmoor RSPB Reserve

This afternoon I spent around 3 hours walking around Lodmoor, and it proved to be an interesting walk with my first Sand Martin's of the year, a lone Sandwich Tern and dozens of Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers all chattering away in the reed beds and hedges.

Other highlights were a Great White Egret, 2 Marsh Harriers and 10+ Black-tailed Godwits with some very colourful males.

Unfortunately a light drizzle followed me around the reserve, so there were no butterflies, a few Buff-tailed Bumblebees and just one Marmalade Hoverfly seen.


Birds Recorded:
Cormorant
1 Great White Egret
4 Little Egret
5 Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
26+ Shelduck
Mallard
Gadwall
Teal
Tufted Duck
2 Marsh Harrier
Water Rail
Moorhen
Coot
2 Oystercatcher
2 Snipe
10+ Black-tailed Godwit
Black-headed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
1 Sandwich Tern
Stock Dove
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
3 Sand Martin
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
1 Stonechat
Blackbird
Song Thrush
7+ Reed Warbler
6+ Sedge Warbler
12+ Cetti's Warbler
2 Blackcap
12+ Chiffchaff
2 Willow Warbler
2 Bearded Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
1 Bullfinch
2 Reed Bunting

Species Recorded: 55

A Great White Egret

Here it is feeding in one of the channels

And its smaller cousin the Little Egret

A Grey Heron

Shelduck

A male Shelduck

Moorhen

Just the one Snipe seen, I'm sure there were many more.

A stunning looking male Black-tailed Godwit.

Here it is again feeding in the shallows.

A short video of the Black-tailed Godwit. More on Black-tailed Godwits Here.

On the left a First Summer Black-headed Gull and on the right my first Sandwich Tern this year.

One of many Chiffchaffs around the reserve.


Here it is "Chiff Chaffing"

A male House Sparrow giving me a good old frown.


Bees Recorded:
3 Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)


Hoverflies Recorded:
1 Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)


Ted:

This is Ted telling me that we've just passed the car and.......

..............we are not going around the reserve for a second time.