Early afternoon at Reynard decided to come back and have a siesta on the neighbours garden shed. How he hasn't taken any my chickens is quite extraordinary, so I'm going to have be a bit more vigilant through the day.
A little too close to home.......
........this fox has returned...
.........and for the time being is having a nice nap.
Lotmead Pool
Later in the afternoon I popped into Lotmead Farm to see what was about on the pool and as I arrived a Grey Heron took off. A patch tick which was a good start. Also on the water there were 4 Teal, a pair and two drakes sitting on the bank. If there were any other females they were well hidden.
A Mallard flew overhead, but didn't land, but there were a pair of Little Grebes calling and a bit later a third one appeared much to the annoyance of the "resident" male. On the bank there were a pair of Canada Geese, that didn't seem to happy that half-a-dozen Rooks were collecting nesting material in amongst them.
The rookery at the back of the pool has around 13 nests, though the 30+ Rooks I saw might mean more nests to come.
13 nests so far in the rookery.
In the fields around me were 400+ Starling feeding alongside 100+ Redwing, with a few Fieldfare mixed in. In another field were a pair of Stock Doves which like the Rooks all became silent when a very dark brown Buzzard came gliding through.
In the distance I could hear a Chiffchaff calling, still no song yet, despite the lovely day we had. A single Meadow Pipit headed west as did a Grey Wagtail.
Here are a few images from this afternoon:
A drake Teal
Little Grebe
The pair of Little Grebe on the Reserve Pool
A Buzzard comes into land
Quite a dark looking bird
And another fox. This time a Rural Fox
Birds Recorded: 3 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 1 immature Mute Swan, 1 Mallard, 4 Teal (3m, 1f), 1 Buzzard, Pheasant, 1 Moorhen, 2 Coot, 2 Herring Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 4 Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, 2 Collared Dove, Green Woodpecker, 1 Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, 5 Blackbird, 10+ Fieldfare, 100+ Redwing, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Chiffchaff calling, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, 30+ Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 400+ Starling, House Sparrow, 10+ Chaffinch, 2 Siskin, 10+ Goldfinch, 2 Bullfinch and 1 Yellowhammer.
Also Fox and Grey Squirrel