29th-31st May will becovered on the Early June 2009 page
Thursday, 28th May 09:
Starling - a juv stopped long enough in the garden for a few close snaps
Home to work VERY early:
- Painted Lady 21 grounded between Thorley Church and Thorley Wash... all flying up infront of me
Hayter, Spellbrook (west):
- Painted Lady 180 [ 21 in my 10 min teabreak, 3 during my 30 min lunch and a mind-blowing 156 (all averaging NNE) in the 20 mins after work from 1615-1635 Hrs]
- Grey Heron 4 together North-East
On way home in car:
- Painted Lady - 27 more on way home making a total of 228 in one day!
Todays Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting videos of singing birds
Wednesday, 27th May 09:
A better than average shot of a Yellowhammer, taken in Spellbrook (west)
Moor Hall Black Barn:
An early start
- Yellow Wagtail 1 in surrounding field
Trims Green:
- Grey Heron - single bird fishing Blount's moat
- Corn Bunting - usual bird
Spellbrook West:
- Grey Heron over South-West
- Lapwing 2 - over East seemed very odd
- Kestrel - female at favoured North Field
- Muntjac 1
- RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE 2 - On North Lawn... this is only my 3rd record on Hayter land.
- Painted Lady only 3? Surely more? Perhaps i forgot to write them down?
Corn Bunting, A young Starling in the garden and A Grey Heron in flight at Trims Green
Tuesday, 26th May 09:
Around my usual workday
- PAINTED LADY 27 (13 North-East and 14 grounded)
Monday, 25th May 09:
Home to hatfield Forest:
PAINTED LADY 109 - almost all North! Part of a trully massive migration estimated to involve 10-50 MILLION individuals over just the last two days!
Sunday, 24th May 09:
A Painted Lady and an amazing site first for me in the form of Fallow Deer antler.
I've never even seen their footprint here :-)
Stortford Park Farm:
- Yellowhammer 1 calling
- Common Whitethroat 1
- Painted Lady 8 (2 stationary and 6 North without stopping)
Honeysuckle Close:
- Greenfinch 2 - Male and Female, our first garden visit for quite ome time
Saturday, 23rd May 09:
Egyptian Goose, Red Kite (my first on film with borrowed camera)
Sand Martin, Brown Hare and Sedge Warbler
Rutland Water:
A superb day out wih Steve and Cliff produced a few goodies worth listing in full:
- Great Crested Grebe 15+
- Cormorant 10+ mostly in air
- Grey Heron
- Mute Swan 80+
- Greylag
- Canada Goose
- Egyptian Goose 16 minimum [8 adults, 8 juvs (6, 2)]
- Shelduck
- Wigeon 2
- Gadwall 20+
- Teal 2
- Mallard
- Shoveler 10+
- Tufted Duck - abd
- RED KITE 2
- MARSH HARRIER 1 FEMALE/IMM
- COMMON BUZZARD 5 (4)
- OSPREY 2 (1)
- Kestrel 1 minimum (3+?)
- HOBBY 2
- Pheasant
- Moorhen
- Coot
- Oystercatcher 9 (7 adults + 2 newly hatched juvs)
- LITTLE RINGED PLOVER 4
- RINGED PLOVER 1
- Lapwing
- SANDERLING 1 - with dunlins
- DUNLIN 4
- CURLEW 2 - BRIEFLY
- Black-headed Gull
- Lesser Black-backed Gull - all 1st and 2nd summer I think
- Great Black-blacked Gull
- Common Tern - lots... no odd ones tho
- Feral Pigeon 20+ over
- Stockdove 6 (7) seemed a pretty good count
- Collared Dove
- Cuckoo 4+
- Swift
- Green Woodpecker 4+
- Great Spotted Woodpecker - Only 1!
- Skylark 4 singers minimum
- Sand Martin - Abd
- Swallow
- House Martin - lots, a few grounded birds collecting mud
- Pied Wagtail
- Wren
- Dunnock
- Robin
- Blackbird
- Songthrush
- Mistle Thrush
- Sedge Warbler
- Reed Warbler
- Common Whitethroat
- Garden Warbler
- BLACKCAP - Lots, we came across what appeared to be a singing female! Afterwords collecting food
- Chiffchaff
- Willow Warbler
- Long-tailed Tit
- Coal Tit - One heard and another possible seen close to feeders
- Blue Tit
- Great Tit
- Jay
- Magpie
- Jackdaw
- Rook
- Carrion Crow
- Starling - All adult with the exception of a single juv
- TREE SPARROW - A bird I thought destined to never see LIFER, YEARLISTER.
- Chaffinch - juvs everywhere
- Greenfinch - a few juvs here and there
- Linnet 6 (but could in theory be the same 2 birds seen 3 times?)
- BULLFINCH 2+ Female seen carrying nesting with Male in tow!
- Reed Bunting
75 species.
also seen but not part of the 'official' count:
- Ruddy Shelduck
- Canada X Greylag hybrid
Osprey, poorly looking Willow Warbler and Grey Squirrel
Oystercatcher with young, Ruddy Shelduck and Male Kestrel
Phryganea Grandis largest UK Caddisfly, my first TREE SPARROW, Little Ringed Plover
Friday, 22nd May 09:
Northern Parkland (previously mentioned as Stockman Field)
- White Helleborine - A blinding local-patch find, and by the sound of it, not the most common plant in the county :-) In the long line of trees along the east edge
More info:
Thursday, 21st May 09:
Garden Warbler and Reed Warbler
Both firsts for me 'on film'... I decided last week to try for them and it seems a little patience goes a long way.
I will make a list of birds i've got photographs of and see if there's any other local gimmes that I could aim for during my time off.
Spellbrook (west):
Spellbrook Railway Crossing:
- Spotted Flycatcher - Bird too busy feeding... hit by train within 20 feet of me!
Tednambury Marsh:
- Lapwing 2 pairs hanging around
- Spotted Flycatcher - another in trees between Tednambury and Spellbrook Lock
Wallbury:
- Great Spotted Woodpecker - juvs still very noisy a nest site
- GARDEN WARBLER 5 - 3 Singing within 30 yards of white footbridge!
- Stockdove 2 - one singing from deep within the north end, the other in the middle
- Sedge Warbler 2 males singing in the North section as usual
- Reed Warbler 2 - A pair feeding together at their usual spot in the reeds along the rivers edge
- SPOTTED FLYCATCHER 2 - A pair together about halfway along.
- Treecreeper 1
+ usual Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Blackcap Etc
One of the Hayter Swallows
Thorley Wash:
- Grasshopper Warbler 3 - the Southern-most singer has moved North now singing around (but not in) the large patch of brambles on the East-West path.
Thorley Lane:
- PAINTED LADY - My first of the year! :-)
Thorley Wash to Thorley Church:
- Common Buzzard Vs. Kestrel
Birchanger Wood:
Two hours searching for a WOOD WARBLER heard eight days ago
- Yellowhammer - Two males venturing quite deep into the wood in seach of juicy caterpillars, and you guessed... no wood warbler song :-(
An obliging Jay at Thorley Wash and one of many baby rabbits
Spotted Flycatcher at Wallbury, Sedge Warbler, Dunnock and Long-tailed Tit
