Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Railway Cuttings and Glen Caravan Park
I don't know why I trust the weather forecast to be accurate. Just before I headed out, it was supposed to be dry for a short spell. However by time I reached the end of Old Quarry Lane, the rain began to fall again.
Knowing there would be a bit of shelter along the railway cuttings, I headed there as quick as I could. What I didn't expect though, was to narrowly miss standing on a well camouflaged Woodcock.
Looking back up Wakeham Railway Cuttings, where the Woodcock was on the left as I was coming down the track.
Bearing in mind that it had been raining for most of the morning, it probably thought it was in a quiet spot, until I came along that is. As soon as it sensed I was about to stand on it, with my size 10 wellington boots, it was gone.
How it managed to get airborne and over a garage in the caravan park, was pretty impressive. I guess if you were unexpectedly spooked, adrenalin kicks in.
With the rain really hammering down it was time to head home tout suite.
Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Wildlife Site, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Glen Caravan Park, The Mermaid Track and Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east)
Blue skies, sun and no wind. Perfect conditions for a bit of birdwatching, except that I only found 2 Chiffchaffs and a single Goldcrest. Overhead I had two Skylarks and a two Siskins, but apart from that it was very quiet.
However the very mild conditions did draw out a few insects with a Speckled Wood, a Buff-tailed Bumblebee, a Honey Bee and a Harlequin Ladybird also seen.
Sadly the Dandelion which had 3 Marmalade Hoverflies on it yesterday, was nowhere to seen. Most odd. Consequently I didn't see any Marmalades along Old Quarry Lane, or anywhere else.
Mammals Recorded: 2 Grey Squirrel
These two Grey Squirrels were.................
.............in their favourite spot along the Wakeham railway Cuttings
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull Wood Pigeon 2 Skylark 2 Pied Wagtail Dunnock Robin Blackbird 2 Chiffchaff 1 Goldcrest Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw House Sparrow Chaffinch 2 Siskin Goldfinch
A Dunnock
A male Blackbird
A Chiffchaff in Wakeham Wildlife Site
Along Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east) this Blue Tit............
Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Wildlife Site, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Glen Caravan Park, The Mermaid Track and Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east)
With drier, sunnier and less wind than of late, I was hoping the birding might have improved. Sadly not and the best I could do today was: Old Quarry Lane: 1 Chiffchaff singing Glen Caravan Park: 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrests Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east): 1 Chiffchaff
No butterflies seen today, but a late Buff-tailed Bumblebee was a bit of a surprise.
Mammals Recorded: 2 Grey Squirrel
A Grey Squirrel with a very white belly.
Birds Recorded: 1 Sparrowhawk Herring Gull Wood Pigeon 1 Skylark Dunnock Robin Blackbird 3 Chiffchaff 3 Goldcrest Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw Starling House Sparrow Chaffinch Goldfinch
A Robin playing hide n seek with me
A Chiffchaff along Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east)
On this Dandelion is a fly sp. and two Marmalade HoverfliesEpisyrphus balteatus........................
................ with a third about to join them.
And a short video of the Marmalade Hoverflies and the house fly. There are two very similar house flies which look like this one. They are Helina impuncta and Coenosia tigrina. If I was to narrow it down I would opt for the former as the females can be seen in November. However I think I will stick to House Fly Muscidae sp.
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: House fly Muscidae sp. Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
On the YarrowAchillea millefolium today were two..............
Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Wildlife Site, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Glen Caravan Park, The Mermaid Track and Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east)
In slightly better weather conditions than yesterday, though we could still do with losing that stiff southerly, there was a bit more to see in the drier conditions:
Highlights today were: Old Quarry Lane: 1 Chiffchaff Wakeham Railway Cuttings: 1 Chiffchaff Glen Caravan Park: 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrest. Also here, 3 small birds flew in and vanished into the undergrowth along the cuttings!
Along Old Quarry Lane I nearly trod on a Red Admiral. Fortunately its reaction time was quicker than mine and it disappeared into the air, unscathed. Also along the lane were a couple of Common Wasps on the Ivy flowers and two Marmalade Hoverflies were on a Dandelion flower.
Along Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east) the Yarrow is still in flower, and on one of them there was a Yellow Dung Fly and a Root-maggot fly.
Mammals Recorded: 2 Grey Squirrel
One of the two Grey Squirrels along Wakeham Railway Cuttings.
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull Wood Pigeon 1 Grey Wagtail Dunnock Robin Blackbird 4 Chiffchaff 2 Goldcrest Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw House Sparrow Chaffinch Goldfinch
A Grey Wagtail in its favourite haunt. The footpath through the caravan park.
One of the 4 Chiffchaffs seen today. This one was along Wakeham Railway Cuttings
This one was in the caravan park and............
.................. was unsure as to which side was its best!!
Just two Goldcrests seen today.
Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc. Feral pigeon
Butterflies Recorded: 1 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded: 2 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
The last of the Ivy flowers and I suspect the last of the Common WaspsVespula vulgaris as well.
Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Wildlife Site, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Glen Caravan Park, The Mermaid Track and Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east)
Well the forecast was for sunshine and showers, and that is exactly what we got. But what they didn't say, was the intensity of the rain. It was torrential.
Consequently bird watching was pretty hard going and the best I could do today was: Old Quarry Lane: 1 Chiffchaff Glen Caravan Park: 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrest
There was no sign of the Yellow-browed Warbler, and there was a notable drop in Chiffchaff and Goldcrest numbers.
Mammals Recorded: 3 Grey Squirrel
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull Wood Pigeon Dunnock Robin Blackbird 2 Chiffchaff 3 Goldcrest Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw House Sparrow Chaffinch Goldfinch
One of the 3 Goldcrests at the caravan park today. Sadly there was no sign of the Yellow-browed Warbler.
Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc. Feral pigeon
Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded: 1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: A few unidentified flies
General Shots and Videos:
Rain on the way and didn't it...........
........hammer it down. This was one of many heavy showers today. I was at Glen Caravan Park looking for the Yellow-browed Warbler when this deluge appeared.
Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Wakeham Wildlife Site, Wakeham Railway Cuttings, Glen Caravan Park, The Mermaid Track and Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east)
It was a slightly extended walk from yesterday, which today included The Mermaid Track and Wakeham Railway Cuttings (east), then it was a double back along Wakeham Railway Cuttings to Old Quarry Lane.
Highlights today:
Including sightings from other birders who were present were: Old Quarry Lane: 2 Yellow-browed Warblers* Wakeham Meadows: 2 Chiffchaff Wakeham Railway Cuttings: 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrests Glen Caravan Park: 1 Blackcap**, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Yellow-browed Warbler, 5 Goldcrest, 9 Long-tailed Tit***, 4 Siskin The Mermaid Track: 2 Goldcrests
NB * - Just north of the lane, 2 Yellow-browed Warblers were seen together in a back garden at 9:30am, by neighbours of mine. ** - male Blackcap seen by another birder. *** - 9 Long-tailed Tits seen by other birders.
Mammals Recorded: 2 Grey Squirrel
The Grey Squirrels are never too far away in the railway cuttings.
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull Wood Pigeon Dunnock Robin Blackbird 1 Blackcap 7 Chiffchaff 3 Yellow-browed Warbler 10 Goldcrest 9 Long-tailed Tit Great Tit Blue Tit Wren Magpie Carrion Crow Jackdaw Starling House Sparrow Chaffinch 4 Siskin Goldfinch
No photos of the Yellow-browed Warbler today, just this Chiffchaff and.........
..........another.
A Blue Tit adds a bit of colour to what was a pretty grey dull day.
Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc. Feral pigeon
Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded: 4 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: A few unidentified flies
Plants:
Bramble Rubus fruticosusa
This Bramble Rubus fruticosusa is a bit confused!
Ted:
What's wrong with the path Ted!!
Ships today:
This is the General Cargo Ship "Wilson Ghent" flying the flag of Barbados. It is on its way from Inverkeithing to Jorf Lasfar (Morocco). More on this vessel here.
