4 May 24

Out and About

Two short walks today. The first was to the open ground just south of Fancy Farm, followed by a walk to the North Hide again while I Ted was being pampered at the dog groomers.

Fancy's Farm

Highlights here were 2 Swallows heading north, 2 male and 1 female Stonechat, 3 Common Whitethroats, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff singing.

Birds Recorded:
2 Buzzard
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
2 Swallow
Dunnock
Robin
3 Stonechat
Blackbird
1 Song Thrush
3 Common Whitethroat
2 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

Have you ever had that feeling you're being watched. A Robin watches my every move.

A male Stonechat on the Fancy Farm fence.

And another male Stonechat

A male Common Whitethroat hidden in a thicket

This Wren was in good voice

And another bird keeping tabs on me was this Carrion Crow.

Hmm this Jackdaw has lost half of its lower mandible.

There are lots of Linnets around this year. Both of these are.......

...............males.

Butterflies Recorded:
1 Large White

Moths Recorded:
1 Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)

A Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum)

A Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum) on Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa)

General Shots:

The open ground just south of Fancy Farm

Ted and Theo:

Theo never stops!!

Ships Today:

This is the Maltese Ro-Ro Cargo Ship "Celine" on its way from Zeebrugge to Dublin. More on this vessel here.

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RSPB Radipole Lake

Highlight here was my first Hobby of the year, which was flying alongside dozens of Swifts high above the reserve.

Birds Recorded:
2 Grey Heron
Canada Goose
Mallard
1 Buzzard
2 Marsh Harrier
1 Hobby
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
1 Common Tern
Wood Pigeon
20+ Swift
50+ Sand Martin
Dunnock
Blackbird
1 Song Thrush
10+ Reed Warbler
2 Sedge Warbler
5 Cetti's Warbler
1 Common Whitethroat
2 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Blackcap
4 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
1 Reed Bunting

A drake Mallard on the River Wey.

A female Marsh Harrier soars over the reserve.

And a record shot of two Swifts.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

Well I hope I have ID'd this correctly as a female Southern Hawker. This was the best view I could get.

Butterflies Recorded:
Large White
Small White
2 Brimstone


Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)


Hoverflies Recorded:
Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)

A Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)

An Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)

3 May 24

RSPB Radipole Lake - North Hide only

It was another short walk today to stretch my legs, this time from where I parked my car in Goldcroft Avenue here, to the North Hide here and back. The good thing about the North Hide is that there are several benches to rest your legs.

Highlights at the hide were 50+ Sand Martins, with dozens collecting nesting material from within the hide itself. Also noted was a male Marsh Harrier coming into land and a few warblers singing.


Birds Recorded:
2 Grey Heron
3 Mute Swan
1 Canada Goose
1 Mallard
1 Marsh Harrier
1 Water Rail (heard)
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
50+ Sand Martin
2 Swallow
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
5 Reed Warbler
4 Cetti's Warbler
2 Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch

A female Marsh Harrier over Radipole.........

...........circles a bit..........

..........and then.........

...............drops down into the reedbeds. (Sound track courtesy of xeno-canto)

These Sand Martins were.......

............collecting nesting material within the North Hide itself and........

............then flying back...........

...............to their man-made nest site here.

Butterflies Recorded:
2 Large White
3 Small White
3 Red Admiral

A Small White on a Cuckooflower.

And a Red Admiral

Hoverflies Recorded:
Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)

A Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)

And The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)

An Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria) and............

..................from a different angle.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:

Large Flax Flea Beetle (Aphthona euphorbiae)

A Large Flax Flea Beetle and...............

.................a pair making sure there are a few more next Spring.

Plants:

Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) 

This is Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) and.............

...........likes damp meadows and ditches. Well it's right at home on the reserve. More on this plant here.

And a Hawthorn in blossom. And also known as the May Tree. More on this tree here and here.

General Shots:

Plenty of cattle on........

.........the reserve. All we need now are a few Cattle Egrets.

Ted and Theo:

Ted's wondering how to get past the puddle. Theo's idea is to drink it, so Ted can get by!!

Here's another one Dad!!!

Don't leave me.

2 May 24

Reap Lane Barn

It was a very short walk around the fields at Reap Lane Barn today, and a good one as it turned out, with my first Whinchat of the year feeding alongside 2 Wheatears in the field just north of the barn.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
1 Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
1 Whinchat
2 Wheatear
1 Blackbird
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

My first Whinchat of the year.......

............feeding in the horse field.......

............just south of the barns here.

Also in the same field were these two Wheatear, with.......

...........the Whinchat not to far away.

General Shots:

The horse field where the Whinchat and 2 Wheatears were this afternoon.

Ships Today:

This is the British Ro-Ro Cargo ship "Hartland Point" which I'm guessing........

..................... is undergoing sea trials judging by its past tracking details. More on this vessel here.

1 May 24

Ferrybridge

After another visit to the GP, it transpires that I have damaged the muscles in my thigh, which in turn have pinched the nerves that run down the left-hand side of my leg. Consequently the pinching has caused numbness and a tingling sensation around my shin and foot. Cause unknown and could take up to 6 weeks to repair. Phew.

So having at least learnt that it wasn't anything sinister, I dropped into Ferrybridge to see the Little Terns. Well there are certainly more now with a count of 33, however there were 57+ a few days ago. Perhaps the rest were already at their nesting sites.

Birds Recorded:
2 Oystercatcher
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
33 Little Tern
Pied Wagtail
1 Cetti's Warbler
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet

Below are a few Little Tern images and videos, including one Little Tern which got a bit of a dunking.