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Mid April 2009

 

 

Monday, 20th April '09: 

quiet today but my first HOLLY BLUE of the year... thanks to SteveE for getting yet another butterfly first for me in 09
 
Trims Green:
 
  • Corn Bunting 0 -
  • R-l Part 2
  • Linnet 7+ lysander park building roof
  • Yellowhammer 5
  • Common Buzzard 1
Spellbrook west:
 
  • Swallow 2 resident
  • Chifchaff 2 mm
  • Blackcap 3 singing
  • Orange Tip 3
  • Large White 2
  • HOLLY BLUE 1
  • GVWhite 2
  • Sml white 1
  • (white sp. 6)
  • Peacock 1 

 

 

Sunday, 19th April '09:

Orange tip

Orange tip - maleOrange tip - upperwing b and w edit

Orange Tip Butterfly

highlights from todays walk round Stortford Park Farm and the woods/fields to the NW:

Butterflies

    1. Orange Tip 7
    2. Comma 1
    3. Peacock 2
    4. Red Admiral 1
    5. GVWhite 2
    6. Brimstone 2
    7. Small White 1
    8. Large white 1

[unID'd White 2]

Birds

  • Green Woodpecker 1
  • Buzzard 2 - at least one there on most visits recently!
  • Sparrowhawk 1 male
  • Blackcap 4
  • Chiffchaff 3
  • Willow Warbler 2
  • Yellow Wagtail 1 over NW
  • Skylark - lots
  • Yellowhammer - unbeleivably only a single noted!!!

Long-tailed Tit and Common Buzzards today

Long-tailed Tit - crop

Buzzard - againBuzzard

Buzzard - feather detailBuzzard 2

 

 

Saturday, 18th April '09:

Hatfield Forest Lake:

another family outing

  • Tufted Duck 7
  • Teal 2
  • GCGrebe 6 min (2 on nests)
  • Greylag 11 - A decent count
  • Mute Swan 2
  • Common Tern 0
  • Swallow 1 - only a single today!
  • Tawny Owl - male at females usual spot, female has been heard to call against male but we think that she may be sitting somewhere as she's not been seen in usual roost area for some time.
  • Blackcap/Willow Warbler/Chiffchaff - plenty
  • Garden Warbler 0 yet
  • Common Whitethroat 1 - on edge of overflow carpark close to sheep (only 3rd of the year)
  • Marsh Tit 1 - heard while driving in through wood
  • Goldcrest 1 singing just east of lake

 

 

Friday, 17th April '09:

I slept in today so no early morning efforts!!!

 Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

  • Blackcap 2
  • Chiffchaff 1

Trims Green:

  • Red-legged Partridge 2

 

Thursday, 16th April '09:

 due to bad weather no photos today

 Not my usual, but I thought it was funny :-)

Showing instead today.... My Emergency Funny SNAIL Clip

 

Rainham Marshes... A family outing in terrible weather!

We arrived after a 50 minute drive to find that consistently-heavy rain would be our choice of weather for the day. We spent a considerable time watching over the marshes/river from the raised visitor centre just hoping there would be the slightest break in the clouds but this was not to be :-(

Viewing is great from the centre and i was already notching up a few okay species despite the rain;
Little Ringed Plover 2, Oystercatcher 2, Snipe 3, Little Egret 2, Sand Martins, House Martins, Swallows, Wigeon 4, Gadwall 4 and loads more

My family is made of stern stuff and expected to be shown some birds (obviously i wasn't compaining) and off we sposhed.

We headed towards the first hide (anticlockwise) and hoped for the best.

As we walked along to the hide we found a second Whitethroat singing against the first, at least 4 sedge Warblers and a single 'chugging' REED WARBLER. always nice to get a year-lister :-)

We got to the first hide and took our time recovering from our soaking. scanning the distance provided a female WHEATEAR (ANOTHER YEAR-LISTER!) but very little nearby as there was work being done only 20 yards from the hide.

Starting back towards the centre, beaten, and we only added a single Meadow Pipit and a Redshank to the sitelist.

We sat around in the centre for a bit to have a chat/say our goodbyes and i grabbed the last few mins of window-time to see if i could add one more bird. The visibility was pants but the outline of a massive bird caught my eye.... it was going to be out of view fast but i did manage to get focused on it for a moment. I turned to the bloke stood next to me, 'did you see that!!!'
i'm not sure if he responded as i was already on my way out the door.

And sure enough... my third OSPREY in England (tho my first in Spring) flying East along the Thames.

4 curlew NWest was my last addition before departing

Although the rain managed to confine my site list to 52 species, i'd have been too busy in amongst the marshes, and would otherwise have missed my best yearlister of the day.

 

 

Wednesday, 15th April '09:

experimenting - scruffy scottish birder self pic

A Scruffy Scottish Birder

Thorley Wash:

0620 Hrs

  • Blackcap,
  • Willow Warbler,
  • Chiffchaff,
  • Sedge Warbler 1,
  • Green Woodpecker

Trims Green:

before our 0730 hrs start

  • Linnet 7+
  • Stockdove 1
  • Corn Bunting - no sign
  • COMMON WHITETHROAT 1 - Singing from highest point alon Sacombe Ash Lane in a hedgerow. Only my second of the year :-)

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

  • Common Buzzard 2 - high, slowly over at 1035 Hrs
  • Greylag 2 east at 1030
  • Blackcap 3 singers
  • Chiffchaff 2 singers
  • Kestrel - Male at females usual spot overlooking North Field
  • Mistle Thrush - single worming the entrance lawn
  • ORANGE TIP 1 - my first of this super butterfly species this year
  • Cormorant 1 east

Trims Green:

at lunch... very quiet with only butterflies of note!

  • Peacock 2
  • [ White butterfly Sp. ] 2

Cows are back out on Morris Farm Field...

....may prove attractive to any Yellow Wags on passage again?

 

 

Monday, 13th April '09:

Thorley Wash:

  • Search for Reed Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler negative again

Trims Green:

  • Corn Bunting - our daily, early morning checks on what appears to be the last Trims Green Corn Bunting also brought no sightings, with a week since my last sighting I'm more than a little concerned

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

  • Grey Heron 1 - West
  • Blackcap 3
  • Chiffchaff 1
  • Swallow 2 - seemingly resident
  • Pied Wagtail - nesting again... usual signs up (thanks Dave)
  • Bullfinch 2 - suspicions of birds back on territory looks on track with a pair again in trees on edge of North Lawn
  • Blue Tit - single going physco at three different wing mirrors in the office carpark is always amusing and reminds me of my pet Budgies when had when I was only a fledgling myself
  • Melanistic [black] Pheasant - NOT the green one, we finally got close enough to confirm that these are infact two completely different birds, tho both look black at distance one is Very dark, bottle-green and the other is black (no reflective colours even in full sunlight)

Trims Green:

the search goes on, today, concentrating on that double-post

  • Corn Bunting 1 - single bird sat on the post for around 20 Mins at lunchtime but didn't make a squeak.  I'm hoping that this is a sign that the bird's managed to find a mate and not that there's no other Corn Bunting to sing against/for.  We were back again at 1610Hrs but no bird to be seen or heard.

A Kestrel on the way home beside the golf club was my only BoP of the day

 

 The last local Corn Bunting?

The best i could manage from 250 meters in rubbish light this lunchtime

If none appear next year i would weep for their loss.

Corn Bunting - didn't make a sound today

 

 

Sunday, 12th April '09:

Cuckoo - 1 of 2 today at Hatfield Forest

 Cuckoo - one of two heard

Hatfield Forest:

'Badges and Birds' with the SVW group followed by a search for Cuckoos with Rick

[not to mention our White Stork efforts]

47 species

obvious missing species: Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Goldcrest, Teal, Cormorant 

 

 

Saturday, 11th April '09:

Thorley Wash:

a complete walk around the '8' checking for new arrivals

Wallbury:

Trims Green:

Viewed from just South of Thorley Church

no shortage of Blackcap, Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler

 

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