Thursday was Fish Day

During the late Spring and Summer months, my favourite swim at Stanton Park Lake is peg 4, for one of my top species of fish, the Tench. Last season I topped my personal best no less than three times, finishing the season with a beautiful fish of 6lb 7oz.  Most of the regulars use a small swimfeeder packed with groundbait and maggots and cast 3/4 of the way across the lake. This method certainly catches fish, but just like last year if you are prepared to wait for the sun to drop just behind the trees at the dam end, then the fish move in close to the margins.  And sure enough that's exactly what they did and before long the surface in front of me was a mass of exploding bubbles as the Tench began stirring up the bottom.

A waggler float with a single grain of sweetcorn on a size 14 hook was cast out about 12ft, closely followed by a small amount of loose feed. Within a few seconds the surface around my float began to irrupt and it wasn't long before I was into my first fish. A small one by the lakes standards, but nevertheless a lovely fish of 4lb.

First Tench of the Year - 4lb

The only drawback with fishing in water that's just under a metre in depth, is that as soon as you hook a fish, all the others around it shoot off in different directions. So it was a little while later before they moved back in again. I had several takes and a couple of good runs but it was a good hour or so later before I had fish number 2 on the bank. This time a 5lb fish with a tail that had seen better days.

5lb Tench with a tattered tail.

So a great start to the year and the bird watching wasn't bad either. Just like this morning with the Sparrowhawks in and around Nythe there were 3 here at the lake in the afternoon. The first one flew through unscathed, the second an hour later was being chased by two drake Mallard (a first for me, I didn't realise how quick ducks can fly) and the third bird was more typically being mobbed by up to twenty or so Goldfinches. Other raptors about today was just one Common Buzzard.

In the reed beds opposite me my first Reed Warbler of the year, suddenly burst into song, which made me wonder whether it had just flown in. I'd had been at the lake for 3 hours and this was first indication that one was present. Especially as it carried on singing right up until I left at 8:00pm.

Other birds of interest were a handful of male Blackcaps singing, a few Chiffchaffs and a single Willow Warbler.  Throughout the afternoon small parties of hirundines visited the lake with up to 9 House Martins mid afternoon and 3 Swallows and a single Sand Martin. Just before 8:00pm up to fifty hirundines descended on the water for a few minutes before heading off north.

I didn't record any butterflies but a Bee-fly was an interesting find. I would have photographed it, if it hadn't been for the fact that it landed on the camera. If only I had the remote shutter release to hand! Not my photo but at least you can see what a Bee-fly looks like. Bee Fly Photo Very weird and unforgettable.

All in all 44 birds were recorded from 2:00pm - 8:00pm
Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Mallard, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Wren, Jackdaw, Raven, Rook, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Bullfinch.