The scrapes around the new ponds are being visited by Pied wagtail, Grey wagtail and Meadow pipit.
Birds around New Ponds
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Category Archives: Flora
Pheasants and Hare
A walk around the Reserve this morning gave us the opportunity to see teal on School Pond and 11 magpie nearby.
But passing Flora field we noticed a pair of hare. After scattering birdseed for the linnets, I noticed a pair of male pheasants fighting it out.
The hare was too fast for me but I have a poor photo below.
It is nice to see the activities leading to spring.
Heron in Flora Field
This heron was taking a keen interest in one of the ponds that we are hoping will one day have great crested newts.
Redshank
Whilst we were working in West Field this morning 20 plus redshank were observed feeding at the edge of the pond.
Fairfield Feeding Station Updates
An excerpt from email from Dan
We erected a LDBWS sign on site a few days back. We should have done this earlier because the birds, having read up on our objectives have finally got the idea and are feeding regularly.
Today there were up to 22 Chaffinches, 12 Linnets, four Reed Buntings, two Dunnocks and a Stock Dove feeding on the ground seed (c 8 metres left of the table as viewed from the double gate) and mid-single figures of Chaffinch, Robin, Great Tit and Blue Tit coming to the seed on the table.
Also in the immediately vicinity the regular male Kestrel, two Mistle Thrushes and three Song Thrushes (two of which were in sub-song).
Ian spied a number of birds feeding yesterday including Goldfinch.
Now that the passerines have got used to the table I took the bold step of moving it two or three metres nearer the double gates. Hope they don’t get spooked!
Dan.
Reed Bunting
This morning we visited the new bird table in the arable field, and although there were no birds feeding on it, there were several reed buntings around as well as a wren and a robin.
There was also a kestrel and a mistle thrush in Pony Wood. There was very little wind for the kestrel to hover in!
Redshank?
Whilst we were working in West Field yesterday (19th) a small group of birds, perhaps a dozen or so, were feeding at the far edge of the pond. We did not have binoculars but the informed opinion was that they were redshank.
Geese and bull
A flock of 30 to 40 geese enjoying the stubble in Flora Field this morning. They were either greylags of pink footed or both, sorry, can’t tell the difference form the distance I observed them.
The new bull has arrived, a fine chunky fellow. Some of the cows were showing a distinct interest this morning so no worries about further calves on the evidence so far.
Highlights of the week
Lots of butterflies out in the sun. On Tuesday we saw a gatekeeper at ‘Thistle Corner’ on the Pony Wood path, commas, a peacock, and lots of whites as we progressed round the wood; speckled woods in the Orchard; small skippers in West Field and the Hay Meadow, plus meadow browns of course. We also saw a smallish dragonfly in the woodland extension, too distant to identify, and the marmalade hoverfly photographed below. A jay was squeaking like a monkey in the wood.
Today more gatekeepers at Thistle Corner, plus the one photographed below in the hedge between Big Meadow and School Pond. A greenfinch was calling noisily near the gates between Big Meadow and Grammar School Field.
Elephant hawk moth and another giant horsefly?
This magnificent but slightly damaged moth was hiding in the thistles alongside the path to the east of Pony Wood.
The fat wasp looking thing was on the fence near the Cromwell Rd entrance to Fauna. Is it a lighter giant horsefly?
