Mid-May update.

Just spent a week in Rhodes at Lindos. My birding time was done during my early morning walk around the resort. Although we had a little bit of rain it was a very relaxing week. I've attached some pictures taken during the week.

Female Blue Rock Thrush busy nest building

Lesser Kestrel

Black Eared Wheatear

The number of Swifts and Swallows around the area was pretty impressive with Common, Pallid and Alpine Swifts seen daily plus Barn and Red Rumped Swallows and Crag, House and a few Sand Martins. Ten raptor species were also seen plus a real bonus in the shape of a Thrush Nightingale I found early on the first morning. This was a first for me and I was well made up!!!

I was amazed by the number of crickets about at this time of year and I'll add some photos of some of these  plus a bit more of the holiday week in the coming posts.

Back to the patch and Friday 16th turned up the first Spotted Flycatcher(93) near lake cottage. Sunday a Common Sandpiper(94) was resting in one of the fishing swims.

Common Sandpiper

The first Damsels and a Downy Emerald dragonfly were also seen at the weekend.

Bank holiday got off to a good start with my first Swift(90)over the house as I left for my walk. The Willow Warbler was still singing at the top of Kirkins and as Iwalked down the track I heard the unmistakable song of a Lesser Whitethroat(91)as it moved through the scrub. A pair of Lapwings were displaying over the field and two skylarks were trying to out do each other.
Down at the lake, yesterdays Garganey had disappeared but there were three Mandarin drakes.

Another Garganey shot.

The afternoon in the garden was very eventfull with a pair of Hobby(92) seen overhead as well as two Buzzards and a Peregrine which flew low over the house before reappearing a short while later with what looked like a young Starling in its talons.Great stuff! Later in the day 5 Swifts were feeding over the house.

Whitethroat singing down by the lake.

April Update and beyond.

The first Reed Warbler(84) arrived at the lake on 22nd followed the next day by four House Martins(85).
Unfortunately I missed out on a Common Tern on the 25th which Glyn had through in the afternoon.
I managed a good walk around the patch on 27th  adding Garden Warbler(86) and a Yellow Wagtail(87) which headed over north east. I had a great few hours on the patch and was delighted with the two additions plus the total of 51 birds seen and was was well cuffed to find two Mistle Thrush families in the horse paddock behind the pumping station. I did miss out on two Mute Swans that landed on the lake and stayed around for only an hour(seen by Andy) on the 29th.
Into May and a small bird found fliitting around a row of apple trees turned out to be my first Marsh Tit(88) of 2014.
Today turned up another Willow Warbler singing in the top scrub in Kirkins.

Willow Warbler

This afternoon as Phyllis and I were out for a stroll which took us round the lake three ducks flew in and landed on the water. These turned out to be Garganey(89) FANTASTIC!! I could hardly contain myself. They seemed to be very skittish so I contented myself with watching them and photographing them from distance not wanting to spook them.

Garganey(2 drakes and a duck)

A brilliant end to the weekend. 

The week started well with a Red Kite(80) over the lake going west on Monday at 16.30. the first Common Whitethroat(81) was found by the lake on the 17th. The same day a second Willow Warbler was found on an established territory.
The Robins in the back garden had fledged three young on the same day and three fledgling Blackbirds were on grass verge in Maidstone Road.

Blackbird fledgling

By Friday a total of three Whitethroats and three Willow warblers were on territories. It was especially pleasing to find the Willow Warblers as I feared they could be lost as a breeding species after the destruction of most of the decent habitat but they seem to be making the most of the fragments that are left, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Common Whitethroat

On Saturday evening I was overjoyed to find a Barn Owl(82) sitting in one of the local nest boxes we put up a few years ago.

Finally, today I had a Tree Pipit(83) over West to complete the new arrivals to the patch.

It's been a bit of a mixed week.On Tuesday I had what will undoubtedly be the last Fieldfare of the spring when a single bird flew over the house at 06.10 as I left for work.
That evening at 19.00 I had a quick walk and was made-up to find a cracking male Wheatear(77) in the field opposite Kirkins Cottages in Furnace Lane.

Male Wheatear.

On the 8th I found a Willow Warbler(78) on one of the only patch territories left after last years butchery by local farmers. A real relief!! The first Cuckoo(79) called somewhere on the village green as I left the house at 07.00 yesterday but remained unseen until this morning when it called persistently and gave some really great, if distant, views. There were also 4 Swallows at the lake plus a few going through this morning.

The local pair of Buzzards have been displaying well and Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps seem to be everywhere. There are also now three broods of Mallard ducklings on the lake.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks and what they might bring.

A quick look at the lake this evening, produced the first two Swallows (76) which were chasing each other over the sheep field near the pumping station.
On the lake itself the first Mallard ducklings,ten of them, were being closely guarded by their mother.
With luck the weekend will produce some goodies!!

End of March update

The last few days of March were pretty good to me with the lake livening up on Friday as a Bittern(73) turned up.Sadly they don't spend the winter here anymore but it was great to add one to the list for another year. I couldn't get anywhere near it as it sat high in a tree after being flushed by something in the reeds.

Bittern in tree (honest!)

A second Blackcap had also turned up and was singing behind Lake Cottage.The lake held a pair of Tufted Ducks,2 pairs of Mandarins, 2 pairs of Canada Geese and 2 pairs of Grey-lag Geese and a pair of Grey Wagtails on the stream.  

On Saturday raptors were in plentiful supply with 3 Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels and a Peregrine seen during my morning walk and after stroll in the afternoon with my wife, as we entered the back garden we had a Marsh Harrier(74) going over south. FANTASTIC !! 

Nothing was added during Sunday morning but a walk in the afternoon produced 2 Mediteranean Gulls(75)  which were feeding with 50 Herring Gulls and 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on a field being turned by a tractor on Swigs side.

I'm looking forward to April and hope it continues in the same vein.