Friday 29 June 2012

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

Tuesday 12 June 2012

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