A walk on Friday afternoon produced some brilliant views of a Hobby which circled over the orchard with a flock of 100+ Swifts which were feeding low over the fruit trees.
Our walk took us up to Sprivers where we found three adult Spotted Flycatchers feeding over one of the ponds.

Spotted Flycatcher

Saturday afternoon saw me looking for more Damsels and Dragonflies down at the lake. I found my first Common Darter of the year:-

Common Darter

I also refound the Golden-ringed Dragonfly:-

G-r Dragonfly

and photographed a White-legged Damsel:-

White-legged Damselfly

Sunday saw me adding a species to the year list in the shape of two Crossbills(107) which flew over the lake and landed on the pine trees on the Shirrenden side.A most unexpected  bonus! 

Time just flies by!

It's been quite a while since my last post and I don't know where the time has gone.
June continued with lots more species producing young. Both Great Spotted Woodpeckers nests that I found fledged three young successfully, as did Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Whitethroat. I think that Willow Warbler have also fledged. Interestingly another brood of Grey Wagtails have appeared on the stream below the lake. Do they double brood are or these likely to be a different pair?
On a more sombre note the Kestrels don't seem to have been successful.
I saw a male Peregrine a couple of times in the month and on the 29th I saw another Red Kite. Hobbies don't seem to be very abundant on my patch although my time has been very limited during the last month so I could just be unlucky.
A Mallard has appeared on the lake in the last couple of days with six ducklings, here's hoping they make it!
Mandarins have pretty numerous with double figures most days.
I've managed to have a walk this afternoon. Still trying to get my head around Damselflies. I've taken a few pictures and attempted to name them, hopefully correctly.

Large Red Damselfly

Blue tailed Damselfly

Azure Damselfly

Common Blue Damselfly?

Black tailed Skimmer

Whilst photographing the Damsels I noticed a large Dragonfly on the small stream opposite the pumping station, which turned out to be a Golden-ringed Dragonfly,what a beauty and the first time I've seen one on my patch and only the second one ever.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

There were also a couple of Emperor Dragonflies plus a Downy Emerald on the lake but all refused to sit for a picture.Still I went home very happy with my efforts.

Review of first week of June.

Last weekend was great in terms of species seen, with 53 seen on Saturday and a further six seen on Sunday.
There are three Great spotted Woodpeckers nests around which are becoming increasingly noisy.Mandarin numbers had gone up to twelve yesterday evening(11 drakes and a duck).
Monday evening I added Peregrine to the months tally when a fine male was circling over the orchard. This is the first time I have had Peregrine on the first six months of the year.
The pair of Canada Geese have returned to the lake with three goslings:-

Canadas with goslings

The increase in Mandarins is due to the drakes going into moult,I think? Last weekend I picked up a rather attractive feather(see pic)

A Kingfisher was seen yesterday evening plus I found a Mistle Thrush feeding two youngsters

One of the juvenile Mistle Thrush

Finally on the insect front I saw my first Banded Demoiselle of the year(see below)

                                                                  Male banded Demoiselle.

So here's hoping for a productive weekend.

21st -27th May Update

The last week has been an interesting one on the patch! One of the Long-tailed Tits nests have fledged and the Great-crested Grebes have grown fast.

Great Crested Grebe with chicks

It has taken a while to catch up with local Spotted Flycatchers but I managed to find them again at Lake Cottage.

On Sunday I was delighted to find two singing Turtle Doves on the patch (up to then things were looking pretty grim on this front). I also found another Garden Warbler in another area.On the stream below the waterfall a female Grey Wagtail was feeding two juveniles.Fantastic!I also saw three Cuckoos together until one male was chased off and the pair then mated.

There are three Willow Warblers still holding territories but interestingly one of them appears to be a dual singer. It sings a few Chiffchaffs then breaks into the usual song.It also looks quite pale on the front(see attached photos).

Dual singing Willow Warbler

The Treecreepers at the lake continue to feed their young, it shouldn't be long before they fledge.

It would seem that although the weather has been changeable the birds seem to be doing OK.

Sunday morning provided a Common Sandpiper(106) sitting in the end of the jetty. Unfortunately it wasn't there when I got home from work and was armed with my camera and scope.I did get some other shots:-

                                                     Mistle Thrush in sheep pasture

Resting Swallow

Speckled Wood

In the early evening I got a text to inform me that a Red Kite was heading towards the village from the South but unfortunately I was in Paddock Wood picking up daughter so dipped on it. 

However some good news was finding out that one pair of Grebes actually had 2 chicks left. 

It was a good few hours in the field this morning with 52 species seen. Three Willow Warblers  are holding territories and the lake held at least three Reed Warblers. I didn't manage to find the Spotted Fly at Lake Cottage but it was nice to see a Moorhen with six chicks. Sadly one of the pairs of Great-crested Grebes has lost it young and the other pair only have one left.
The Cuckoo was in excellent voice as were the local Skylarks.
The only raptors seen in the morning were a pair of Kestrels and a Buzzard. At the southern end of the lake a Garden Warbler continues to sing, on and off.In the paddock in Shirrenden a Little Owl was dropping onto the ground catching insects. On the way back up the hill the male Cuckoo was chasing the female around the top of Kirkins.
There were a few more Swifts and House Martins about over the village in the afternoon.
I went for a little walk with Phyl in the afternoon and the first thing we saw when we entered Kirkins was a pair of Hobbies, nice.On the way back to the village a large bird drifted in from the east. It was very low and turned out to be a Red Kite, fantastic!! We watched it for a while as it gradually gained height. I decided to try to get home to see if I could see it and amazingly when I got into our back garden I found that it was still circling over the village and was visible. A great garden tick for me.
In the evening I went down to check the lake and had a Turtle Dove fly over my head. This is only the second sighting since 24th April. A sad sign of the times i'm afraid.
i was very pleased with the days total of 55 species.

At Last!

Last Sunday saw me adding Hobby(103) to the year list. This was one of four species of raptor seen with Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk also seen.Both pairs of Great-crested Grebes have young and all the summer visitors appear to be concerned with nesting.
Yesterday evening I had a pair of Common Terns(104) which flew around the lake a couple of times before disappearing off to the North and this evening I Found a Spotted Flycatcher(105) in the garden of Lake Cottage. At last !!