Croxley Common Moor and Wilstone

CROXLEY

I went for another cycle ride today in the direction of Chandlers Cross via Chipperfield were I saw 1 of the remaining 2 ♂Yellow Wagtails that I found yesterday, along with 1 Ring-necked Parakeet calling over Chipperfield Road.

male Yellow Wagtail

Next I stopped at Harrocks Wood (owned by the woodland trust), not much was of note.  However, I did see 5 Nuthatches, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Buzzard, 2 Goldcrests and occasional Jays and Swallows.  I then continued towards Croxley Common Moor were I found several species of Warbler including 3 singing Sedge Warblers performing display flights from the bushes along the River Gade.  In the western corner of the NR (near the train bridge) I saw 1 singing Garden Warbler followed by a second sighting of one east along the river and a 3rd singing in the hedgerow very close to the second, in total this added up to 3 Garden Warblers.  1 Kingfisher also shortly hovered over the river before plunging and a second sighting (of possibly the same bird ) was seen flying back upriver.  Dozens of Whitethroats and Reed Buntings were also distributed evenly around the NR together with occasional sightings of Willow Warblers, 4+ Reed Warblers (in the dense reed bed along the Gade) and 1 Green Woodpecker.  1 Buzzard also flew over the reserve being chased by 7 Herring Gulls and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull.  Most of my day was spent chasing around the south-eastern part of the reserve trying to track down the Lesser Whitethroat that was occasionally calling from dense cover but refused to show itself, with two possible exceptions when I caught a short probable glimpse of the bird calling in flight.

1 of 3 Garden Warblers along the Gade River near the bridge

Reed Warbler

juvenile House Sparrow

Whitethroat

WILSTONE

Whilst I went to Croxley my brother chose to go in the opposite direction to Wilstone, as a result once I arrive home from Croxley we left straight away to pick him up.  I had a short 45 minute visit at Wilstone in which time I visited the hide, from which I saw 2 Hobbies hawking over the water, 2 Oystercatchers (resting on the spit in front of the hide), 1♂ Wigeon also along the vegetated edge of the spit and dozens of Common Terns were over the water.

1 of 2 Oystercatchers present on the spit

Chipperfield Birding

I left the house around 9:00, and cycled into Chipperfield via the adjacent fields, whilst passing through some pea fields outside Chipperfield I saw a distant yellow bird.  After taking out my bins and properly IDing it as a Yellow Wagtail I was soon on to another.  Both were singing their repetitive one syllable "tsree tsree tsree".  Below are photos of individuals from the 2♂ Yellow Wagtails in the same field, after I found them at 9:30 they were both still present onwards from 11:40, however they were not very tolerant  of  each other and occasional song flights were interrupted with chases around the field, as a result I didn't manage to get photos with both birds in.  Other birds of note were several singing Skylarks, 3 flyover Swallows and 1♂ Yellowhammer (around Bucks Hill) .

male Yellow Wagtail singing from the pea field

Tring Trip

 WILSTONE RESERVOIR

Today was my first day off after my As exams and I decided to spend it at Tring Reservoirs and Ivinghoe Beacon (unsurprisingly).  I arrived at Wilstone at 7:20 after a long and strenuous cycle from Kings Langley leaving the house around 5:45.  On the way to Tring, whilst passing along the canal I saw 1♂ Yellowhammer, several Stock Doves, my first juvenile Robin of the year (all seen in the horse field to the right of Chaulden Lane) and Common Terns were calling from the canal.  The most obvious birds around at all the reservoirs were the hirundines, there were literally 1000's of Swifts (not quite the 5600 recorded yesterday) but Wednesday's rain storm must have caused the fall of migrants.  From the fields leading to the nature reserve I also saw 1 Hobby fly in from Startop's direction, 1♂ Reed Bunting was in the rapeseed field and a few Common Terns also flew over head.  In addition, there were smaller numbers of Sand Martins, House Martins and Swallows (in descending order of abundance (with Sand and House Martins easily reaching into the 100's)).  Soon after arriving the weather changed from cloudy to drizzle combined with strong westerly winds and even stronger downpours, this made scanning extremely difficult from the jetty, however I did see 3 Mandarin Ducks (2♂,1♀) and a  1♂ Yellow Wagtail that I accidentally flushed and flew of in the direction of Cemetery Corner in the Eastern Corner of Wilstone.  Reed Warblers were desperately trying to attract more mates due to the disastrous flooding of the reed bed which must have destroyed a large proportion of the nests.  From the hide 1♂ Wigeon was near the spit and Shoveler Pochard, Tufted Duck and 21 Greylag Geese represented the commoner species present.  Unfortunately, there were no signs of the elusive pair of Garganey from yesterday and they weren't recorded for the rest of the day.  Flyover birds included 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 Red Kite, and a second sighting of a Hobby (possibly the same bird from earlier in the morning).  There were very few wading birds about except 3 Lapwing.  The willows to the right of the hide were occupied by a Little Egret and 8+ Grey Herons were lined along the spit.  Passing back through the the rapeseed fields 1 Sedge Warbler was performing display flights from the bushes and I also had fantastic but brief view of a Stoat bound across Tring Ford Road on my way to Startop's End and Marsworth Reservoir.

STARTOP'S END AND MARSWORTH RESERVOIR

The second stop was at Startop's Reservoir, were I hadn't finished scanning the reservoir until a Cuckoo started calling (from Marsworth Reservoir), I located what I thought might be the bird in the ash trees on the opposite side of the reservoir.  This meant views were distant and the photos are no were near adequate for certain ID, but the characteristic call and jizz makes it an almost definite Cuckoo.  1♂ Red Crested Pochard was also at Startop's being very photogenic (see photos below).

male Red Crested Pochard

male Cuckoo calling

 COLLEGE LAKE

The third stop was at College Lake were I caught up on some late year ticks including the pair Little Ringed Plovers that were incubating a clutch of eggs in front of the octagon hide.  The Lapwings were causing a great deal of disturbance and at one point one of the adults soon responded aggressively by flaring its tail in the intruders direction.  I only saw 1 Lapwing Chick, although I'm sure most are still being incubated during the harsher weather.  Redshank were also about and I glimpsed 2 Reed Warblers in the neighbouring reeds and singing Reed Buntings were also heard around the southern edge of the reserve.

Little Ringed Plover brooding eggs

Lapwing a little too close for the Little Ringed Plovers liking

IVINGHOE BEACON

Most birds were in fact near the car park so there may have not been any need to walk all the way to the Beacon from Beacon Road.  In surrounding fields (mostly neighbouring the road) there was a total of at least 4+ Corn Buntings (most singing from wires), 5+ Yellowhammers (including a courting male in the car park trying to impress an uninterested female), dozens of Meadow Pipits were also in the cow fields and open grassland and 1 Willow Warbler made a brief stop in a shrub before continuing its migration.  Whitethroats were also very regular along the path including 1 female carrying food near the beacon. 1 Green Woodpecker was also in the open coppice south of the Beacon Road and 1 Buzzard was seen from the car park.

Meadow Pipit

Skylark

male Corn Bunting doing its jangling song

all in all it was a successful day, most notably the highlights for me was the Stoat and massive flocks of hirundines (especially the Swifts).

PS. The Great Tits in our garden have fledged!

Cassiobury Park (24 May)

On my way to school through CP saw 2 Mistle Thrushes.  Around 3:45 I took a break from revision for the afternoon and headed out into the park towards the nature reserve.  A pair of Chaffinches were feeding their single chick in a very vulnerable location at the base of a large oak tree trunk in the middle of the park (not to mention the dozens of dog walking past regularly) followed by a pair of Nuthatches climbing low down on the trunk of the same tree.  Just outside the LNR 1 Ring-necked Parakeet flew over and 1 Mistle Thrush called.  Inside the NR 2 Bullfinches were calling in the hedgerows leading to the hide and occasional Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were still in song.  1 juv. Cormorant also flew over the canal but otherwise it was quiet.  Occasional Swifts flew over the park and probably totaled over a dozen birds.  At the Golf Course came across an occupied Nuthatch nest followed by a singing Goldcrest carrying nest material (although I am not sure whether I realy did find the nest).  A big shock came from underneath the tree as a 1 inch thick snake coloured dark green slithered into the woodland, unfortunately I didn't notice any key features or see its head but its length (+40cm) indicated a probable Grass Snake. moments later a shrew (unidentified) rushed out of cover (probably disturbed by the snake) and dived under a pile of leaves near my feet.  I found 4 occupied Great Spotted Woodpecker nests including two that were visited by parent birds (it wasn't difficult finding the nests as the chicks call continuously without a break and soon becomes unbearable).  In addition I also found 1 Blue Tit nest (with highly protective parents) and down by the bridge at the Gade River I heard a Kingfisher.

Yesterday, whilst in the garden 5 Coal Tits were feeding in the fir tree at the end of the garden (2ad. feeding at least 3 chicks).  The Blue Tit nest infront of my window also seems to have gone quiet as no more adults are visiting the nest and I haven't heard the chicks for at least a day and a half, hopefully they've fledged successfully.  The Great Tits are still in the nest although they are showing signs of soon leaving as they are exercising their wings and are approximately the same size as the adults now.

Just returned today through the woods and saw my first successfully fledged Great Tits, consisting of at least 4-5 young and both adults.

Jay in the Garden

Just saw a Jay come down to the bottom of the garden next to the pond and take a frog from the edge were it was particularly vulnerable, the sight wasn't particularly pleasing.  The pond has produced several baby frogs and most are heading into the woods were I have found dozens earlier last week.  The Great Tit nest is also going well and at least 4-5 chicks have so far survived despite a brief visit from a Magpie which realised getting to the chicks through a 28mm hole would not be worth it.

Wasp Beetle

Whilst helping out in the garden today I came across this fantastic Wasp Beetle crawling over the wood pile in the front garden, incredibly realistic colouring (for a wasp)!

Wasp Beetle
 

 These photos of bees were taken several days ago on the Chive flowers during good sunlight.

 an unIDed bumblebee species

Another failed attempt at getting one in flight

KL Woods and Barnes Lane

I left the house around 6:10 am for a break from revision.  The weather was too good for finding any late stranded migrants (clear skies with no cloud cover, temperature still quite low) and KL Woods was quite quiet with only a few Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest, as a result I soon left and headed behind the KL State School and Barnes Lane 1 Mistle Thrush was feeding on the playing field and 1 Whitethroat in the neighbouring farmland.  Further along Barnes Lane the list improved and the highlight of the day came as a medium thrush sized bird flew into the tree over my head but quickly diverted its flight path into a nearby tree were I realized it was a Little Owl.  It remained perched on an exposed branch from around 7:15-7:20 with an earthworm which it had recently caught, instead of eating it it headed of further down the avenue of trees towards Rucklers Lane were it probably has a nest with chicks.  Along the hedgerow leading to the underpass of the A41 there were also 4+ Linnets, several Whitethroats, 1 Green Woodpecker (heard) and a Swallow.  The adjacent fields also had several Skylarks, still singing and protecting territories as well as a total of 4 Yellowhammers and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker also along the lane.  Scatterdells Wood also remained quiet and most of the birds around were only heard including 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker(1 feeding young in a nest hole), 1 Green Woodpecker and 1 Nuthatch.  A pair of Blackcaps was also at the far end of Scatterdells Lane.  4 Swallows also flew over the horse field whilst I walked back to KL at 9:20.