TUESDAY 15 APRIL
Still a cool wind blowing but in sheltered
areas, feeling pleasantly warm in the wall-to-wall sunshine
It was another day spent locally with the
addition of just one new 2014 species for me in the end - COMMON
WHITETHROAT....
I started off at CROXLEY COMMON MOOR (HERTS)
in the hope of Cuckoo or Common Whitethroat but it was hard going with very few
migrants present. A pair of GREY WAGTAILS was busy building a nest beneath the
canal bridge, while a singing male WILLOW WARBLER, 5 Blackcap and 3 Common
Chiffchaff were the only migrants of note. More regular species encountered
included Mute Swan, 6 Canada Geese, Moorhen, Lesser Black-backed Gull (pair),
Mallard, Wren, Robin (4), Common Blackbird, Dunnock, Greenfinch (4), Magpie,
Carrion Crow (3), Common Buzzard, Great Tit, House Sparrow (3), Common Starling
(16), Long-tailed Tit (pair), Goldfinch, Collared Dove, Jay and Stock Dove
(2).
STOCKER'S FARM FLOOD was a distinct
improvement with 3 beautiful male YELLOW WAGTAILS feeding along the shallow edge
of the pool and a pair of EGYPTIAN GEESE guarding 6 goslings. Other wildfowl
included 10 Canada Geese, 4 Mallard, 2 pairs of Gadwall and a drake Shoveler,
with a pair of Coot and 2 pairs of displaying Lapwing. Hirundines
included 4 Barn Swallows and a Sand Martin, with 8 House Sparrow, 12 Common
Starling, 2 Ring-necked Parakeet, Dunnock and 6 Pied Wagtail also
noteworthy.
Over at WEST HYDE, CORN BUNTING numbers had
increased to 4, along with 8 Skylark in the cereal crops. A lot of Small
Tortoiseshell butterflies too.
At WATER END, the Rookery held 25 active
nests and a male Blackcap was singing, with a pair of Barn Swallow at LOWER GADE
FARM south of DAGNALL.
Thanks to Ian Williams, I soon located the
first of two singing male COMMON WHITETHROATS along the DRY CANAL at WILSTONE -
the first of the year for me. This walk also produced a male Blackcap, a male
Yellowhammer, Wren, Chaffinch and Goldfinch as well as a host of butterflies
including 8 Brimstone, 2 Orange Tip, Small White and 5 Small Tortoiseshell. Once
again, I failed in my quest to locate the Little Owl at Miswell Farm - my 5th
attempt in recent weeks.
A major surprise in DRAYTON BEAUCHAMP HAMLET
was a cracking male BRAMBLING having a drink in a roadside puddle - presumably a
migrant on its way east. A few Greenfinch were also about, as well as 6 Jackdaw,
Dunnock and Wren.
On MARSWORTH RESERVOIR (TRING), CETTI'S
WARBLERS had now increased to 3 singing birds, with a second singing SEDGE
WARBLER in the reedbed at the east (Bucks) end. Otherwise, 3 Blackcap, Song
Thrush and 1 Common Chiffchaff, with a female Mallard with 9 ducklings, the
Greylag Goose pair, 2 Great Crested Grebe, an increase to 10 Coot, 8 Common
Tern, the 1 Mute Swan, Grey Heron and a pair of Lesser Black-backed
Gulls.
STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR yielded 4 Great
Crested Grebe, 37 Tufted Duck, 6 Mute Swans (including '4ABK', the drake
Red-crested Pochard, Common Redshank, 2 Common Terns, a flyover Oystercatcher,
Green Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, 4+ Barn Swallow, Common Buzzard, a pair of
Long-tailed Tits and a male Reed Bunting. Highlight was a male YELLOW WAGTAIL in
the second horse paddock north of the reservoir.
Little to add from TRINGFORD RESERVOIR other
than 4 Great Crested Grebe, nesting Mute Swan, 38 Tufted Duck and 23 active Rook
nests.
COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT was also very quiet with
waders represented by Lapwing (6 pairs), Common Redshank (4+ pairs) and
Oystercatcher (1 pair) and migrants by 2+ Blackcap and 2 singing male WILLOW
WARBLERS. As at the reservoirs, a worrying number of paired up Lesser
Black-backed Gulls (seems to be a pair on Wilstone, Startop's, Marsworth &
College).
PITSTONE QUARRY is still looking in
excellent condition and today housed a Great Crested Grebe, 4 Little Grebe,
nesting Canada Geese, 6 Tufted Duck, 6 Coot and 6 Moorhen, with a pair of Common
Redshank and male Pied Wagtail on the mud and singing Common Chiffchaff and
Blackcap in the wood.
DEEP MILL LANE POND supported 2 Little Grebe
and two family parties of Coot (both with 5 young apiece), with LITTLE MISSENDEN
WATER MEADOWS harbouring a pair of Gadwall and Grey Heron, with Barn Swallow and
5 House Sparrow nearby.
At SHARDELOES LAKE, another pair of Lesser
Black-backed Gulls was in residence. Nothing new to shout about but all 3 Mute
Swans, 44+ Canada Geese, 5 pairs of Gadwall, 28 Tufted Duck, a female Northern
Pochard, 1 of the Great Crested Grebes, 10 Little Grebes and 38 Coot, 11 nests
of the latter now being occupied. A single Grey Heron was on the island, with
Jay, Common Chiffchaff and Blackcap completing the list
No comments:
Post a Comment