|
Marsh Lane News - May 09
31st May 2009 - Hot and sunny, easterly wind.
The wildfowl and other counts for the day were as follows:-
One Great Crested Grebe - (no sign of any young), three Little Grebe, four Cormorants, three Herons, four Mute Swans plus four cygnets, five Greylags plus six goslings, two Canadas, a male Shelduck, a Black Swan, two male and a female Shoveler, 16 Gadwall, 39 Mallard, 45 Tufted Duck, a female Ruddy Duck, 18 Coots, three Moorhens, five Oystercatchers, one Little Ringed Plover, two Ringed Plovers, five Redshank, 17 Common Terns and three chicks, 11 Black-headed Gulls and five Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Butterflies included six Painted Ladies, two Common Blues (both males) a Small Copper (River Hide path), Speckled Wood, Green-veined White, Large White and a female Brimstone; whilst Odonata included two male Broad-bodied Chasers, Four-spotted Chasers, a Black-tailed Skimmer, Large Red Damselfly, Azure, Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damsels.
30th May 2009 - Remaining hot and sunny.
At least 114 Orchid spikes were counted in the field to the rear of Oak Hide where, with careful feet placement, good views can be obtained. The darker purple orchids are Southern Marsh, and the lighter ones are mostly Common Spotted. They also tend to have much more spotted leaves. There may be some hybrids.
A fine Stoat ran across the Old Road in the morning and what was presumably the same animal was seen about 15 minutes later in the rabbit burrows behind Oak Hide. There was still plenty of song with Skylarks singing on the tip field and east of the A452 and Garden Warblers by the cottages and the back gate.
An adult Jay was introducing a newly fledged juvenile to the feeder by Oak Hide, but other than more Painted Ladies and a rather tattered Peacock, there was not much else to report on the wildlife front.
Those wishing to look at the Odonata around the Dragonfly Pond, please keep to the shore nearest to the concrete road and not venture beyond because of breeding birds.
29th May 2009 - Hot and sunny, wind in the east.
There was a report of four Little Ringed Plovers and two chicks in the afternoon, but by the 30th none of these could be re-found. At least five Painted Ladies were seen - the invasion is on a broad front but over Thursday and Friday there were thousands in Norfolk and I noticed from the Bardsey Bird & Field Observatory website that on the 30th May, they estimated over 800 were seen in a day.
28th May 2009 - Cloudy start with a light-westerly wind, clearing as the day passed and at night changingto an easterly wind.
Yesterday’s two Dunlins remained. At least 15 adult Common Terns and three chicks were counted and there were still at least three Lapwing chicks on Railway Pool. A Chiffchaff was seen carrying food by the south-west pond.
27th May 2009 - Cool blustery south-westerly wind, mostly overcast, some light drizzle.
Back up to two Dunlins today, both feeding and showing well from Oak Hide. At least 30 Swifts, 20 Sand Martins and a couple of House Martins 'scudded' around on the strong wind.
A female Ruddy Duck was present on Car Park Pool and at least four Shovelers continue to linger.
26th May 2009 - Cold and strong south-westerly wind and overcast most of the day.
Only one Dunlin could be found in the evening and in the fractionally sunnier conditions at least 60 Swifts and 20 Sand Martins fed low over the Reserve.
25th May 2009 - Generally overcast, dry and humid.
The best bird today was a Black-tailed Godwit which joined the two Dunlins and lingered for much of the day. A few Painted Ladies were seen again, there were at least two Tern chicks being fed and at least four Lapwing chicks remain. However, the disappearance of the Redshank family is a real disappointment.
24th May 2009 - Hot and sunny.
The most notable feature was the appearance of at least six Painted Lady butterflies. These were the fore-runners of a major national arrival. I am told that thousands have been moving north on a broad front through western Europe and then appearing on the Channel and East Anglian coastline over the last few days. A Small Copper was also seen by the Railway Hide.
An unidentified red Darter-type dragonfly in the crop field defied close analysis.
The two Dunlins remained, at least one Tern chick has hatched out and a noteworthy 74 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew east together.
23rd May 2009 - Hot and sunny.
Yesterday’s two Dunlins remained, but in the hot weather any other passage passed us by. The singing Cuckoo from the last few days appeared to have moved to Siden Hill Wood.
Three Garden Warblers were still in song. The only one from the last few days not heard was that by the Car Park feeders.
The pair of Tree Sparrows and two young were present again at the Oak Hide feeder.
22nd May 2009
Two Dunlins were the only migrants of note. Unfortunately the Redshank family appears to have vanished.
Tree Sparrows have bred on or near the site as two adults and three or four juveniles fed at or near the Oak Hide feeder today. This is the first proved breeding success here though young fledged at Bradnocks Marsh were seen on the Reserve a few years ago.
21st May 2009 - Occasional heavy showers, mostly sunny and cool but light westerly wind.
A Red Kite flew over the Kenilworth Road just south of the Reserve, at the junction with Pack Lane, Berkswell, at 6.40 p.m. It had moulted feathers from its right wing and looked similar to the one over Siden Hill Wood last week.
The evening was sunny and clear and bird song carried on until nearly 10 p.m. A Cuckoo called repeatedly from the railway embankment until at least 9.50 p.m. and the unpaired Lesser Whitethroat sang on the Old Road, near the cottages, until a similar time.
At least 14 Terns roosted together on the shores of the island opposite Oak Hide, whilst the other birds of the pair were sitting. Waders and wildfowl were vocal and active and a pair of Redshanks fed at the stream outlet in the Marsh, just below Oak Hide. A Little Ringed Plover was on the car park again, at dusk.
20th May 2009 - Sunny intervals. Light southerly wind.
Not a great deal of change. The Dunlin from the 18th was again present. A Cuckoo sang frequently from the railway embankment and two pairs of Shoveler were present, one on each pool. A female Ruddy Duck was seen last night but it was not obvious this morning.
At least two Lapwing chicks from Tern Island have swum across to the shore in front of Railway Hide, whilst two were still feeding away on “Big Island” and one remains on the Car Park Pool islands. The Redshank chicks were not showing this morning, but both adults were about.
The pair of Tree Sparrows were again seen and heard by Oak Hide, and one bird flew to the oaks by Car Park Hide and called there for at least ten minutes this morning.
19th May 2009 - Brisk southerly wind, heavy showers and sunny intervals.
What was presumably last night’s Dunlin remained, but little else on the migration front.
Happily, good news on the breeding side came in the form of four Redshank chicks in front of Car Park Hide, and four Swan cygnets on Railway Pool.
The Greylag brood from yesterday (of seven) was on Car Park Pool, and at least three Lapwing chicks was still visible.
A Little Ringed Plover had laid an egg in the car park, but has not been seen since; however, a pair appear to be nesting on Railway Pool and the nest has been caged.
18th May 2009 - Blustery south-westerly. Occasional showers.
A Dunlin, in the evening, and a trickle of Swifts through were the only migrants noted.
The Lesser Whitethroat, from the Old Road, appears to be unpaired and, having moved down the road to the cottages, was singing somewhere along towards the lorry park this evening.
A Cuckoo also sang most of the evening, whilst a healthy total of nine attended the work party. Jobs undertaken included ragwort and willow removal, spraying of creeping thistle and strimming. Thanks to all those who attended. Dates for other work parties are in the Newsletters. All are welcome.
17th May 2009 - Heavy showers, occasional sunny intervals, blustery south-westerly.
New birds included a drake Teal and the first Ruddy Duck of the year, whilst Hobby, the pair of Water Rail in the Marsh and a Tree Sparrow at the Oak Hide feeder were the other birds of note.
16th May 2009 - Generally sunny but a cold and blustery south-westerly wind.
The change in wind direction clearly had an effect on passage, although the amazing numbers of waders yesterday on the bigger waters by-passed us.
A Dunlin flashed through mid-morning, a single Common Sandpiper lingered, but aside from a trickle of Swifts south-west, little else was on the move.
Only one of the two Great Crested Grebe chicks remain, but is elusive as it spends much of its time on the back of one of the adults. Shoveler numbers increased to five (two pairs and a male) whilst Little Ringed Plovers and Ringed Plovers seemed to be set at three and two pairs respectively. Pleasingly, Lapwing juveniles are “holding” at six (five Railway, one Car Park), and 16 sitting Terns were counted.
15th May 2009 - Heavy overnight rain and heavy showers throughout the day.
Other than six Swallows that flew through to the north at 7am there was precious little of note on the migrant front. There was no sign of the Little Tern this morning which presumably departed overnight. A Cuckoo sang repeatedly along the river and the pair of Shovelers from the last few days was joined by an additional male.
I counted 14 singing Reed Warblers - 11 in the reed bed, one at the west end of the Causeway and one just beyond that on the Railway Pool together with one in the pond by the Car Park. I suspect that this is an under estimation but would welcome any feedback. Six Sedge Warblers were also in song; these were behind Railway Hide, one east of River hide, two just north of the Causeway, one in the reed bed at the southern end and one at the north end of Car Park Pool. I suspect that this an under estimation as well but other birds having been heard recently in the Marsh and opposite Oak Hide, again feedback would be welcome.
Four Garden Warblers were still in song and a Lesser Whitethroat was singing between the Car Park and the cottages.
From mid-morning, a pair of Water Rails showed well, on and off, in the Marsh, and Common Sandpiper and Dunlin showed on Railway Pool. At 11.45 a.m., much commotion over Siden Hill Wood from the Buzzard pair, alerted a few of us to the presence of a Red Kite which headed off north with prey. It was a particularly scruffy individual and is probably still in the area.
14th May 2009 - Overcast and misty, with a light north-easterly wind.
Ideal conditions for dropping in migrants, but initially there was nothing of note before 9 a.m. However, shortly after this, a female White Wagtail was found on Railway Pool and at 10.30 a.m., Glen Giles picked up on a Little Tern which dropped into the same pool and was still present after 11 a.m.
It initially fed around the pool before roosting on the island in front of Oak Hide. This is the third record (fourth bird), for the Reserve.
Other birds of note included two Common Sandpipers and a particularly showy Cuckoo.
At 2.40 p.m. a Peregrine flew through and put all the birds up, but the Little Tern fortunately remained and was still present at 8pm.
A third Common Sandpiper was present in the evening and a Hobby was also seen.
13th May 2009 - Drizzly, cool north-easterly wind.
The Spoonbill was present until about 6.30 a.m. this morning; it was feeding on Car Park Pool at 5 a.m. before flying up river and landing on the Blythe by the river bridge. It then flew back and at 6.30 a.m., was driven off by the Greylags and flew away north-east. This is the third record of this species since the Reserve opened
Also on site this morning were two Common Sandpipers, and a Water Rail in the Marsh.
12th May 2009 - Again sunny, but with a strong easterly wind.
In the morning most of the interest came from insects with a few Blue-tailed Damselflies, one Large Red Damselfly and one Four-spotted Chaser on the wing, together with two Brimstone butterflies
In the evening, Swift numbers increased from low single figures to at least 30 and they were joined by over 20 Sand Martins and a couple of Swallows. Yesterdays pair of Shoveler were also present again.
The highlight of the day, however, occurred some time after 9 p.m. when an adult Spoonbill was found on Car Park Pool. The finders, Don Nettleton and Bob Buckley, kindly rang me and at least five people were able to see the bird before dark.
It was feeding well in front of Car Park Hide before flying off north, but then instantly returned looking fantastic silhouetted against the fading pinks and blues of the evening sky. It roosted overnight.
I was pleased to record my first Spotted Flycatcher of the year, in song, adjacent to my office at Packington Hall today.
Wider afield, and for those that are interested, the Dowles Brook, just north of Bewdley, is to be recommended. After a few years when Wood Warbler seemed to be down in number, there appeared to be a welcome increase with at least four in song around the Knowles Coppice section alone. This is a Worcestershire Conservation Trust Reserve. A Redstart sang there and on the opposite side of the Dowles Brook itself, a Pied Flycatcher was in song.
Traditionally, the area around the main river bridge, below the car park, was good for all three species, but then they seemed to have moved further upstream. I am reliably informed that singing Redstarts are doing well on Bredon Hill, with at least 15 birds.
11th May 2009 - Sunny, but very strong easterly wind.
The pair of Hobbies showed again, this time from Oak Hide, over Bradnocks Marsh. Three, possibly four Lesser Whitethroats were seen on the Old Road where both Garden Warblers remain.
A pair of Shoveler were new in and a Water Rail called from the Marsh.
Later in the day there were six Little Ringed Plovers (four on Railway Pool and two on Car Park Pool), and two Common Sandpipers.
10th May 2009 - Sunny and still.
The still weather was sufficient to allow a good showing of birds on the railway embankment. The commoner species of warblers were supplemented by Lesser Whitethroat, Tree Sparrow and a pair of Bullfinch.
A Kingfisher showed and a Cuckoo was also seen.
9th May 2009 - Sunny and decreasing westerly wind.
New birds included a Common Sandpiper and a Peregrine, the latter perhaps the cause of the dead adult Lapwing floating in Railway Pool.
Four Garden Warblers were in song, two on the Old Road and two around Railway Copse, but Whitethroats seem to have slipped back to eight.
The pair of Great Crested Grebes on Car Park Pool have produced two young which showed for the first time this morning. Hopefully the adults can keep them away from the Herons.
As the day warmed up, the first Four-spotted Chaser of the year was on the wing around the Dragonfly pond. Courtesy of Peter Reeve, the Warwickshire Dragonfly Recorder, this (together with another record elsewhere in Warwickshire today), was the earliest ever date for this species in the county.
No doubt the hatching of dragonflies and damselflies is the main spur to the arrival of Hobbies, as the first pair of the year were seen hawking insects late in the afternoon.
On a weekend visit to Lakenheath Fen RSPB, I witnessed at least 30 Hobbies in the air together, all hawking dragonflies, the most prominent species there being Hairy Dragonfly. Over 40 Hobbies have been seen together.
8th May 2009 - Sunny, but blustery westerly wind.
Not a great deal of change. At least 10 Swifts moved through early on. A Song Thrush pair were feeding a newly fledged juvenile on the causeway for the second day and the tail-less Lesser Whitethroat remained vocal on the Old Road.
7th April 2009 - After early morning showers, clearing to sunny intervals on a blustery, westerly wind.
A group of 17 Swifts moved through north-east at 7.30 a.m., and there were at least three new Sedge Warblers on territory along the margins of Railway Pool, either side of River Hide. A Whitethroat singing on the river side of the same hide also appeared to be new, taking the numbers singing to nine.
The single Dunlin remained.
6th May 2009 - Sunny intervals, warm westerly.
One of yesterday’s Dunlin fed with three Ringed Plovers on Railway Pool this morning and a steady trickle of Swifts (20+ in 15 minutes) flew through in a south-westerly direction. A few Sand Martins were also present. Six Common Terns now appear to be sitting on all but one of the most westerly islands on Railway Pool.
At lunch time Lee Johnson found a Whinchat on the fence line across the field opposite the car park gates. It showed particularly well for most of the afternoon but seemed to disappear after 4 p.m., but could not be relocated subsequently.
Garden Warblers increased to four, Sedge Warblers to seven, Reed Warblers to 13 and Whitethroats to eight. Blackcaps seem to have settled down to five pairs on or just adjacent to the Reserve. There appear to be two singing Willow Warblers on the Old Road and one by the back gate. Chiffchaffs seem to be limited to one by the south-west pond and probably a second bird on the railway embankment, but feedback on these totals would be gratefully received.
5th May 2009 - Cool and drizzly start with the wind from the north-west brightening later.
There are now four Whitethroats singing along the Old Road between the cottages and the top gate, along with Lesser Whitethroat, three Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler showing and singing well by the cottages. A Cuckoo called frequently from the Railway Pool area in the early morning.
Later in the day, two Dunlins were present on Railway Pool and at 3 p.m. seven Whimbrels flew in to the same pool to bathe. They lingered for about 20 minutes before flying off.
In the evening, Swift numbers increased substantially over the last few days, with over 80 present in the cool of the evening. A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was reported again. This time near the Aeromodellers club. A Water Rail called from the reedbed and a drake Pochard was a new arrival. 26 Common Terns were counted in the evening.
4th May 2009 - Cool, some rain, north-westerly wind.
Today was noticeably cooler, migrants included a singing Cuckoo again, a flock of 43 House Martins which flew north-east at 10.30 a.m. and 14 Swifts which moved north included one group of ten. 12 Swallows, 25 Sand Martins and a single House Martin were reasonable counts later in the day.
Other items of note included the third Lapwing brood and 42 Lesser Black-backed Gulls over.
3rd May 2009 - Broken cloud, strong south-westerly, noticeably cooler.
Noticeably quieter on the migration front but a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near Oak Hide was a good record and a second Lapwing brood of four chicks, on Railway Pool, was excellent news. 40 Sand Martins represented a good count but only a single Swift moved through.
Interest also turned to the first Odonata of the year - Blue-tailed Damselfly - and butterflies, the latter including at least four Peacocks, three Speckled Woods, and five Orange-tips.
2nd May 2009 - Sunny and warm.
The first Garden Warbler of the year by the south-west pond was perhaps a week later than normal, and other migrants are still dribbling in. For example, Waders seem slow to get moving and two Common Sandpipers today were relatively late for this species.
A second Garden Warbler sang later in the day by the cottages, at least five Swifts moved through, a female Wheatear appeared briefly on the crop field, a Cuckoo sang by Oak Hide, singing Reed Warblers increased to six and Whitethroat numbers reached at least eight. All in all, a better day.
1st May 2009 - Sunny and warm.
No records.
|
