Yesterday I flushed 5 snipe from Flora Field and saw a brown hare. Has anyone seen more than one?
Month: March 2019
Hare and heron
A heron flew up from Lucy Brook this morning and I spotted a hare lolloping along in Flora Field.
Snipe! and other birds, Flora Field, 20 March 2019
Walking across Flora Field (arable section) this morning during the volunteering session I flushed a large group of snipe (at least 6, probably 8-10) from the lower northern slope, towards Lower Sowerholme, and then a further 2 nearer Pony Wood. They must have been tucking into small creatures in the recently-spread manure. I was headed for the beetle banks and the water supply points, which needed marking with tape to alert the ploughing contractor, so I certainly didn’t cover the whole field. Maybe next season the flush count needs to include Flora Field as well as the wet areas, at least after the muck has been spread?
It was a very misty morning with low cloud and low visibility, but we heard geese passing over – greylag I think- and several curlews in the distance, down towards the estuary.
The new path gets a new hedge
28 volunteers in the morning and 6 in the afternoon planted over 1,000 hedge saplings. After an early flurry of rain the sun shone and the cakes were delicious. A good day’s work.
Deer
Four roe deer spotted this morning in Flora Field heading in the direction of Upper Sowerholme
And so it continues…
Poor results again. The penultimate flush count of this winter yielded just 16 snipe (including 1 jack). Apart from one in the Hay Meadow, all the rest were in Big Meadow. This total is exactly a tenth of the highest-ever monthly count on the reserve –160 in March 2016.
On the plus side, teal are still making a regular appearance. Twelve were counted on School Pond, along with two mallards and a moorhen. There were three mallards in Big Meadow too. (Hopefully some of these will adopt the the artificial nests in the Hay Meadow and Upper Sowerholme.) A meadow pipit and a pair of reed bunting were also spotted here.
Sparrow hawk
Sparrowhawk hunting along the Longs Pads footpath this afternoon. Flying low between the hedgerows and bobbing up to perch on a post every 50 metres or so. Not sure whether male or female.