Late June at North Cave Wetlands

We enjoyed a walk around North Cave wetlands today. Mild, sunny spells, if a bit breezy. No signs of the Avocets, have they gone already? 

From South Hide we watched a couple of resting Great Crested Grebes, a family of Mute Swans and the juvenile Black-Headed gulls, flying about with wings that looked too small. On the raft there were still some fluffy chicks and adults. In the distance there are a couple of juvenile Little Grebes. An adult paddles towards the hide, allowing me to take my best Little Grebe photos ever.

From East Hide, we watched the little Common Tern colony on a raft from East Hide. There were lots of Greylag chicks, large as rabbits, and many Lapwings. I didn't take the telescope with me today, so I probably missed some other chicks.

A Buff Tailed Bumblebee in a field of daisies.

Swan family. Mum upending and cygnets feeding near her while the male kept watch

A moorhen juvenile. It was chased by an adult -presumably one of its parents- across half a lake

Wild pansy

The new Crosslands hide. Green roof, straw bale walls and lovely views on the new areas being developed in the reserve.

Beware: the door sticks!

The little Common Tern colony with a late Black-Headed gull. We could see two tern chicks, while four adults sat on nests.

Bird list

1. Black-headed Gull, chicks and fledglings     
2. Blackbird
3. Collared Dove
4. Common Tern   2 chicks with adults, 4 more birds on nests
5. Coot
6. Dunnock
7. Feral Pigeon
8. Goldfinch
9. Great Crested Grebe      3
10. Greenfinch
11. Greylag Goose, large chicks
12. House Sparrow
13. Jackdaw
14. Kestrel
15. Lapwing
16. Little Grebe
17. Mallard
18. Moorhen, fledgling chased by adult
19. Mute Swan, adult pair with 3 cygnets
20. Pochard 2
21. Reed Warbler
22. Rook
23. Sand Martin, large colony north of the new hide
24. Skylark
25. Starling
26. Swift
27. Tree Sparrow     
28. Tufted Duck
29. Woodpigeon
30. Wren

June at Oak Road Lake

We returned to Oak Field this dull and cloudy morning. The Yellowflags are blooming and the lake is looking fantastic with the reeds having grown quite a bit since our last visit and a carpet of some aquatic plant coming through and giving the surface a beautiful salmon colour. I was hoping the Swans with have cygnets by now, but not yet: The pen was still sitting in the only slightly more concealed nest, barely looked at us before settling to snooze, the cob was alert and right next to the nest. He wasn't even lured away when we fed the ducks some distance away in his full view.

There were three coot families, with five, three and three young each. One of the families approached to feed. The young coots preferred to pick the bread from the adults beak than fetch it themselves. As seven mallards approached to be fed, the coots thought things were getting a bit too much for the young and took them a few meters away by the reeds, but one of the adults kept coming and going bringing the bread to the chicks.

A Coot family portrait

Magpie

Immature Woodpigeon

Sparrowhawk

Reed Warblers kept quiet, but I saw one feeding on the reeds. We also watched a Swallow feeding low over the lake. As we were leaving, a Sparrowhawk flew high, and a Swallow flew right past it.

Bird list

1. Blackbird
2. Carrion Crow
3. Chaffinch
4. Chiffchaff
5. Collared Dove
6. Coot
7. Dunnock
8. Feral Pigeon
9. Goldfinch
10. Greenfinch
11. Herring Gull
12. House Martin
13. House Sparrow
14. Lesser Black-backed Gull
15. Long-tailed Tit
16. Magpie
17. Mallard
18. Moorhen
19. Mute Swan
20. Reed Bunting
21. Reed Warbler
22. Robin
23. Sparrowhawk
24. Starling
25. Swallow
26. Swift
27. Woodpigeon
28. Wren