A Bit of a Surprise

A short visit to Liden Lagoon, turned into an 90 minute stay, with great views of a Water Rail and Cetti's Warbler. I even bumped into Malcolm Royal later, and did an about turn so that I could show him the spot where I'd seen the Water Rail. We even caught another quick burst of song from the Cetti's on the South Island, to give Malcolm his first Cetti's at Liden.

No mistaking the song of a Cetti's Warbler (courtesy of xeno-canto)

Before I parked up a Red Kite drifted over the Lagoon before heading north over Barnmoor Close and was gone before I got out of the car. On the water there were quite a few gulls with 30 plus Herring Gulls when I arrived and by the time I'd left they were replaced by a 10+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Walking clock-wise towards the A419 I came across the 3 immature Mute Swans, and in the corner where the stream flows out of the lagoon, there were around 15 Siskins, feeding on the bank. Makes a change from the Alders!

Further down towards the South Island there was a Swan resting a 20ft into the wood. Not sure if this is a new nesting site, but certainly the first time I've seen a Swan deep into the wood.

Having seen a pair of Great Crested Grebes in the usual nesting site at the top of South Island, I was surprised to see another individual at the South End. Or was this one of two seen earlier, that had somehow whizzed around the island!

On the water itself were 3 Tufties, a female and two drakes, and with them the same drake Pochard seen here earlier in the year. A drake Shoveler was also present.

The first highlight of course was the Water Rail, which I only came across because I was watching a few Siskins come down to the overflow, for a bathe. The last time I saw one here, was quite a few years back and was just a fleeting glimpse. This individual was more confiding and was out in the open for most of the time I was there. As I was watching it, I wasn't suddenly taken aback by a really loud outburst from a Cetti's Warbler, which was just above the Water Rail in the Brambles. Whether the alarm call was aimed at me or not, it flew off east. I tried to follow, but it was always one step ahead and lost sight of where it went. This was also my first Cetti's at Liden, so a pretty good day all round.

As I left feeling quite elated, I carried on further around towards the car. I'd only gone about 50 metres and I realised that Malcolm was behind me. So hoping that Water Rail was still there, we headed back to railings, where not only did we have more good views, but also found out that the Cetti's was on the South Island.

A few images and a video from today:

 "Little and Large". The immature cob Mute Swan with a drake Mallard in tow.

Normally seen feeding in Alders, this female Siskin along with 14 others were foraging on the bank of the Lagoon.

A male Siskin in more "natural" surroundings feeding on an Alder.

Can you spot the Swan on the south island.....

A close-up of a sleepy Swan. Is this a new nest site, or just a nice quiet retreat!

A few Herring Gulls (left to right) adult, 2nd winter, adult, 2nd winter and 3rd winter.

An easy one an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Now what do we have here. Two adult gulls. Lesser Black-backed Gull on the left, being pursued by a very angry Herring Gull.

Tufted drakes and a female. And on the right a drake Pochard.

In the foreground a pair of Gadwall with a drake Shoveler to the rear.

A Moorhen comes into land with legs dangling below.

It might just be an outlet pipe for the rain water from Liden, but this turned out to be a little oasis this afternoon, with Siskins, Long-tailed Tits, Dunnocks, Moorhens and two great surprises in a Water rail and a Cetti's Warbler. It's amazing what can turn up!

And here is the star bird today, a Water Rail having a good root around.

A pose for the camera.

And another.

Here you can see the difference between the Water Rail and much larger Moorhen.

This is only the second time I've seen a Water Rail at the lagoon since 2007.  Normally a shy bird, this individual however was quite happy to feed out in the open. Once again apologies for the noise of the wind. One of these days I'll get to make a recording on a quiet still day.

Birds Recorded: 2 possibly 3 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Cormorant inbound as I left, 1 Grey Heron, 6 Mute Swan (2 residents, 1 Pen, 3 immature), 21 Canada Goose, Mallard, 10 Gadwall (5 pairs), 1 drake Shoveler, 3 Tufted Duck (2m, 1f), 1 drake Pochard, 1 Red Kite as I arrived, 1 Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, 5 Black-headed Gull, 33 Herring Gull, 20 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, 3 Collared Dove, Dunnock, Robin, 12+ Blackbird, 8 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Cetti's Warbler, Long-

tailed Tit, 2 Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, 15+ Siskin, Goldfinch and 2 Greenfinch.

A bit of a Foxy Day

Nythe

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

Another Windy Day

Last night was forecast snow, but this morning all we woke up to was rain and storm force winds. A bit of a disappointment really, but at least without the snow drifts to contend with I managed to get out for an hour or so.

My venue North Meadow at Cricklade Here. It was very productive last time out, so I thought I'd give it another look. When I got there it was hardly surprising to see that the river levels were up and a that there was a bit more water on the meadow.

Closer to main road there were over 300 Redwing in the trees that eventually moved out onto the meadow, along with 5 Fieldfare to join a Little Egret. Also roadside there was a Chiffchaff heard calling and further down the road a pair of Grey Wagtails on the pavement.

Towards the west across the meadow there were 7 Pintails in the slightly deeper water. And in the centre of the meadow, in amongst the 200+ Black-headed Gulls, there were both a Common Gull and a solitary Lesser Black-backed Gull.

To the north-west, at a great distance, were 300+ Golden Plover, alas they chose not to land in the meadow, but were a long way off towards Latton and Cerney Wick.

Below unfortunately are a few poor quality images from today. Most were distance shots and as I've mentioned before my Canon PowerShot SX50 HS bridge camera I use is really excellent in good lighting conditions, but it does have its limitations when the skies turn grey.

Just a few of the 300+ Redwing present today.

Despite the howling wind these Redwing are just about hanging onto the branches. Even through the wind though, you can hear the 300+ Redwing chattering away.

One of  the two Little Egrets on the reserve.

A very flooded meadow.

It might be flooded but the 7 Pintail here today were certainly enjoying themselves. There was even a pair mating!

Not very good quality I'm afraid, but in the distance are 7 Pintails (3 drakes and 4 ducks). It was absolutely blowing the gale, hence the background noise.

A pair of Mute Swans battle against the elements.

Very distant Golden Plover.

The Black-headed Gulls were a little bit more obliging and in amongst them......

........was this 1st winter Common Gull.

Most of the Black-headed Gulls are sporting their summer plumage, though the individual in the foreground is not far off.

Birds recorded were: 2 Little Egret, 4 Mute Swan, 4 Mallard, 7 Pintail (3m, 4f), 3 Moorhen, 300+ Golden Plover, 200+ Black-headed Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Common Gull, 18 Wood Pigeon, 2 Grey Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 5 Fieldfare, 300+ Redwing, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Chiffchaff calling, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, 5 Carrion Crow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.

One Chilled Fox

Now I know why my two dogs keep barking outside. For the past few days, neighbours have told me that they have seen a male Fox in the daytime. And so it appears with one fast asleep on a neighbours shed, just two gardens down from my chickens!

Later around 5:00pm he woke up and went for an evening stroll.

Sleepy Fox

And now awake. (Martin Adlam)

A bit of nibble. (Martin Adlam)

And a quick glance in my direction, and hopefully not towards the chickens!

This evening he was off for a walk..

......................along the neighbours fences before dropping down into another neighbours garden.

With a quick look around a neighbours garden.

This was his first look into my garden, but appeared to be put off by something. (Apologies for the noise of the wind)

Eventually he struck up enough courage to have another go .......

.... and onto my shed before......

.....heading off towards the direction of Nythe Wood

A Woodland Walk

This morning I had a quick trip to Savernake Forest in the hope of finding a Crossbill. They must have seen me coming as I didn't see or hear any. I did however come across a Willow Tit with a recording below. I have also included recordings from xeno-canto of both Willow Tit and Marsh Tit for comparison. If I've got this completely wrong, then please let me know. I did see it, but it was distant so a visual ID wasn't possible.

  

Willow Tit singing and in the background, apart from the wind, a Jay, Siskins and Redwing


Willow Tit courtesy of xeno-canto



Marsh Tit courtesy of xeno-canto

For the most part the woods were fairly quiet and when I did come small pockets of birds they were mainly tits with the prominent species being Coal Tits. Either that or they just very vocal.

On the pond there were a pair of Mallard and a lots of frog spawn all underneath the north bank. Clever Fogs have worked it out that this area gets all the sun during the day. Not bad for an amphibian that spends a lot of time out at night.

There was also a very friendly Robin who tagged along with me and the dogs for a good 100 metres or so along the track, all the time just staying in front and when I caught up, he moved along to the next bush. I'll have to bring some mealworms along next time.

Also about were 2 Red Kites that circled overhead and then my first Raven of the year. I heard it first and then it passed over the treetops. As I approached the main track where I'd parked my car, there was quite a commotion going on, with 50+ Redwing all chattering away in the wood just south of where my car was parked. Also joining in were a few Song Thrushes and Blackbirds.

In fact this patch of woodland was very productive with bird life, with Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Jay and quite a few Siskins and Goldfinches. This was also where I heard what I believe to be my first Willow Tit of the year!

Birds Recorded: A pair of Mallard, 2 Red Kite, 1 Buzzard, Pheasant, Wood Pigeon, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 50+ Redwing, 5 Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, 2 Willow Tit, 10+ Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Wren, 2 Jay, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 1 Raven, Chaffinch, 10+ Siskin and Goldfinch.

Here are a few images from today:

First a few trees

....another.....

Plenty of shattered trunks.

And another.........

A few bat boxes. 

Another fallen soul......

This derelict building is along Charcoal Burners Road. 

The Pond at the end of Postwives Walk.

A pair of Mallard on the pond

And here is the friendly Robin....

......and off he goes to the next bush as we follow him down the track.

One of the 2 Red Kites overhead

Willow Tit or Marsh Tit! Anybody's guess. Though its song would suggest Willow Tit, but I'm open to suggestions.

Note: Thank you to my good friend Ed Wilson, who confirmed that the song is that of a Willow Tit. Ed sees and hears Willow Tits almost daily at Priorslee Lake, Telford, Shropshire, so a good tick for the year.