Monday 2 May 2016

Cleaning up in the valley

With all the travelling of the last week I fancied a local trip this morning so I popped down to Cornmill Meadow and with a big tip off from Jim I quickly found his Grasshopper Warbler and whilst here a Cuckoo was heard too.

Aggressive Canada Goose
I moved on to Fishers Green and walked the circular route under the pilons back over the bridge and returned to the car park. Surprisingly I heard no Nightingale on my first walk around but in the brambles on the lake side of the river I found two Lesser Whitethroat, four Garden Warblers and a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers.  Pressing on I soon heard the distinct calls of Reed Warblers and then found a couple flitting about in the reedbed. A pair of Wren were busy nest building on the river bank and another Cuckoo was calling from the picnic area.

Wren
Wren
My second trip around and this time I found Nightingales, three of them singing in somewhat muted fashion in the dull grey conditions. I carried on up the path towards Holyfield Lake stopping to watch a pair of Little Grebe fishing. From Weir hide I scanned the skies finding it alive with hirundines many of which were Swifts and then a single Hobby high up in the clouds to give me my seventh year tick of the morning.

Common Whitethroat
Little Grebe


Year list now 225

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