🎵 "Avocetta, Gentille Avocetta" 🎵 - 7th March, 2024

On this day, prompted by a report of a sighting of Avocet on the dam at Thornton Reservoir, which is about 12 miles (19 km) from our home, and it being forecast for dry, if a little misty, weather, that is where I decided to go after lunch.

I arrived at the main car park to find two birders present, including 'Mr Thornton Reservoir' Andy Smith. The water close to the car park contained a number of birds and I photographed a Great Crested Grebe before looking for the Avocet.

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) - Thornton Reservoir

The Avocet was against the dam, and very distant, but was kindly pointed out to me and shown to me through a 'scope. I did take some record shots, one of which (very heavily cropped and enhanced to reduce the effect of the mist) is shown below.

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) - Thornton Reservoir

I had another objective for this visit, and that was to get some exercise. The path round the reservoir is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) in length and I was decided to take this in an anti-clockwise direction. Before setting off, I took a few shots of Black-headed Gull.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Thornton Reservoir

From the car park, we'd observed a photographer leaning over the wall directly opposite the Avocet. I was not at all comfortable with that, but I did want a better shot, so I continued past until I got to the control block well past the bird, and took my shots from there. The one below is still heavily cropped, but better shows the bird.

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) - Thornton Reservoir

The first half of my circum-perambulation was very uneventful, with only a Mallard being photographed. They might be our most common duck, but there's no denying that the drake is a very handsome bird

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (male) - Thornton Reservoir

At the half-way mark, I found that someone had placed some seed on a post and fence. This was attracting birds from the adjacent woodland.

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) - Thornton Reservoir

Great Tit (Parus major) Thornton Reservoir

Continuing my circuit, before reaching the car park, I took a few more photos.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Thornton Reservoir

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) - Thornton Reservoir

On arrival back at the car park I found a gentleman who was just finishing putting food out for the waterfowl. This had attracted a whole bunch of ducks, geese, and gulls. I didn't take much notice, wanting to check on whether the Avocet was still showing. It was and, yet again, a photographer was leaning over the wall directly adjacent to the bird.

I was about to go to my car and head home when I noticed a Mandarin was amongst the throng of birds attracted to the deployed food. How did I manage to miss it until then?!

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) (male) - Thornton Reservoir

Thus ended my visit and this blog post which is somewhat shorter than my usual offering.

Until the next time, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

 

The First Seven Days of February, 2024

This blog post is a relatively short one, covering just one visit out, and some garden observations.

Thursday, 1st February          Bluebell Arboretum, Smisby

The month got off to a bright start when I decided to make a visit to Bluebell Arboretum, Smisby, which is the first village you come to if you head directly north out of our home town of Ashby de la Zouch.

Bluebell Arboretum holds a sentimental attachment for me as it was the last place I visited with my mother before she died in 2004. Shortly after her death, I made a donation to the arboretum in her memory and, in return, I was offered a lifetime permit for Lindsay and I to visit the arboretum.

It had been a few years since I had last visited and, although the trees in the arboretum would be far from at their best, I thought that maybe I would find some interesting birds. I also felt the need for some quiet contemplation and was confident that the arboretum would be relatively devoid of people. This proved to be the case, but it was virtually devoid of birds too!

I resorted to photographing a bunch of Snowdrops.

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) - Bluebell Arboretum

When I had last visited, my passion for dragonflies and damselflies had not yet developed. On this visit, I was pleased to note that there were small ponds which appeared to have very good potential for the Odonata. 

At one point a Robin came to introduce itself.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Bluebell Wood

I did get a brief glimpse of a Moorhen disappearing into the undergrowth behind one of the ponds, but didn't manage any photos.

Having made a circuit of the arboretum, I found myself in need of the ablutions, so headed to the exit. Having done what needed to be done, I remembered that beyond the west end of the car park there was a lake and, in the past, it had been inhabited by a collection of ducks - clearly imported and pinioned. Out of curiosity, I started heading towards this when a voice called out "are you a tree man, or a birder" - it was the proprietor, Robert, and I stopped for a chat. He told me that, since his wife had died, he'd found that keeping the collection 'topped up' with birds had become difficult, and he'd allowed 'natural wastage' to occur. The only pinioned birds remaining were a pair of Pintail and a pair of Teal. 

I went to have a look, and found several ducks in the lake, including what were presumably the pinioned Pintail and Teal, but also included a few Shoveler and a pair of  Mandarin. Photography was difficult as there was a high chain-link fence in front of me, and other fencing intervening too in some areas.

Teal (Anas crecca) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

I know that I have said this before, but I sometimes find myself surprised by how thin the heads of some species of duck are when viewed from the front - or, in this case, from the back!

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) (female + male) - Bluebell Arboretum

Whereas the plumage of the male Mandarin is spectacular, I feel that the female Mandarin has a serene beauty.

To my mind, the drake Shoveler looked somewhat sinister as it swam away.

Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

The drake Pintail is one of the most handsome of ducks.

Pintail (Anas acuta) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

Pintail (Anas acuta) (female) - Bluebell Arboretum

I stopped to have another chat with Robert on my way back to the car and mentioned the Mandarins. Robert told me that he considered them a nuisance as he sometimes gets up to around fifty of them and they snaffle up any food that's put out before the other ducks can get to it. 

Bluebell Arboretum is now on my list of places to look for Odonata when the season comes around.

Friday, 2nd February          Garden

The visits by the female Blackcap are becoming less frequent, but we see her most days. She has a penchant for the blitzed peanut and lard mix that I make. Here she is, just about to pop into the jar (out of frame) containing that treat.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - our garden

We are starting to get a few more sightings of Long-tailed Tits, but they are not easy to photograph as they are never still.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - our garden

Saturday, 3rd February          Garden

Greenfinches are continuing to pay frequent visits to the garden and, currently, their numbers are second only to that of Goldfinches, with up to six being seen at a time. I think that it was fellow blogger Sonjia (blog 'BREATHTAKING') who commented that the Greenfinches where she is in Portugal can be quite posessive and aggressive at the feeders, and I responded that this was not the case in our garden in my experience. I now find that I am having to reverse that statement as they are now exhibiting that sort of behaviour to their congeners as well as to other species. Here's one  that's on its own.

Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) (male) - our garden

Sunday, 4th February          Garden

We had been seeing a female Siskin on a daily basis for some time, and I had remarked to Lindsay that I wish she'd find a mate. On this day, she brought a male with her. I was unsure at first sighting as the crown was not as dark as males of the species that I'm used to seeing.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (male) - our garden

Here are the two together on one of our feeders.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (male + female) - our garden

Tuesday, 6th February          Garden

This was one of our better days for birds visiting the garden with 17 species being observed. However, only the male Siskin was photographed. I'm not too happy about showing photos of birds on feeders, but this is a somewhat clearer shot of the male of the species than others I have managed so far this winter.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (male) - our garden

Wednesday, 7th February          Garden

I was away for most of the afternoon on a medical visit, but still managed to record 16 bird species putting a foot down in our garden, and took a few photos too.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (male) - our garden

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) (female) - our garden

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (female) - our garden

 

This brings me to the end of this post. Busy times are ahead, so I may be away from Blogger for a while. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

 

New Forest 2021 Pt.2 - 14th to 16th July

This is the last part of my report on our New Forest holiday with our daughter and granddaughter and covers the last three days. You can find Pt.1 here:- http://peglerbirding.blogspot.com/2021/08/new-forest-2021-pt1-9th-to-13th-july.html.

Wednesday, 14th July          Crockford Stream ; Hatchet Pond ; Eyeworth Pond

          warm and mostly sunny, but breezy

This day was forecast to be the best day of the week for dragon hunting, with cloudier weather  forecast for the following day. It was time to return to Crockford Stream to try for those Golden-ringed Dragonflies once more.

On arrival, Beautiful Demoiselle were immediately evident. However, it was not long before I found my first Golden-ringed Dragonfly - and it perched. Then next two and a bit hours were spent in seeking and photographing more of this species (in the end I think I saw at least six different specimens), and the rest of the five specialities of this site (Southern Damselfly, Small Red Damselfly, Keeled Skimmer). Here are those spectacular Beautiful Demoiselle:-

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopterix virgo) (male) - Crockford Stream

It was good to see a pair couple-up in tandem and then form the 'mating wheel'.

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopterix virgo) (male+female) - Crockford Stream

Sadly, I didn't realise until later that I hadn't paid enough attention to the Southern Damselfly, and am now kicking myself.

 

Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) (male+female) - Crockford Stream

Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) (male) - Crockford Stream

Scant attention was also paid to the Small Red Damselfly.

 

Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum) (male) - Crockford Stream

Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum) (male +female) - Crockford Stream

I did spend more time trying for Keeled Skimmer shots, but they do have a habit of settling on the ground where there is a cluttered background. This is an odonata species for which I find the female, with its gold colouration, more attractive than the male.

 

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (male)  - Crockford Stream

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (female)  - Crockford Stream

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (immature female)  - Crockford Stream

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (male+female)  - Crockford Stream

A New Forest pony decided to keep me company for a while.

 

New Forest pony - Crockford Stream

Although not one of the five specialities of this location, I did take a few shots of Common Darter.

 

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male) - Crockford Stream

In retrospect, I did spend an inordinate amount of time focussing on the Golden-ringed Dragonflies when Southern Damselfly and Small Red Damselfly are so much rarer. However, Golden-ringed Dragonfly is such an iconic species, with the longest abdomen of any UK dragonfly, and its distinctive yellow and black stripes. Furthermore, it is a dragonfly that is not found in my home area, so I felt compelled to try for some shots. It is perhaps surprising that its colouring can be extremely cryptic in some settings.

 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii) (male) - Crockford Stream

I was also pleased to find a female of the species, although I didn't notice the fact at the time! This was only my second-ever female Golden-ringed Dragonfly. She seems to have had a hard life!

 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii) (female) - Crockford Stream

I had been there just over two hours and I was feeling in need of a rest, so I headed back to my car and had a picnic lunch in the car park at Hatchet Pond.

 

It made sense to have a quick look around while I was at Hatchet Pond. I only spent just over half an hour here, but was pleased to get a few wildlife shots. 

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) (male) - Hatchet Pond

Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum) (male +female) - Hatchet Pond

My favourite find, however, was a shed snake skin beside the water. When out dragon hunting I usually take a few small pots with me in case I find exuviae. I managed to get this snake skin into one of these pots which had an air-tight lid. It was a week later before I opened this pot and the smell was awful! The skin measured 90cm, so if the snake was this long or more, and bearing in mind that in shedding its skin it was going to get larger, it had to be from a Grass Snake as Adders only reach 60-80 cm and Smooth Snakes reach 60-70 cm, whereas Grass Snakes get to 90-150 cm. The skin is now hung up in my shed and has lost most of the smell.

 

shed skin of Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) - from Hatchet Pond

I joined up with the girls for the rest of the afternoon but, having recovered from my exertions by the evening, set off to visit Eyeworth Pond once more. I'd mis-judged the orientation of the pond and found that the accessible side was facing into the early evening sun. I did manage a little photography, however.

 

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Eyeworth Pond

Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) (male) - Eyeworth Pond

There's no denying that a drake Mandarin looks pretty spectacular in his breeding plumage. However, it seems that the female is just as capable of drawing attention to herself. How about this for showing off!

 

Mandarin (Aix galericulata) (female) - Eyeworth Pond

Whilst sitting on a log watching the Mandarins, a Marsh Tit was visiting a post only about 2 metres from me, where someone had kindly left some seed for the birds. I don't usually like to publish photos of 'birds on feeders' but I don't see many Marsh Tits these days.

 

Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) - Eyworth Pond

Thursday, 15th July          Keyhaven ; Cadnam Moor

 

          warm and sunny, but breezy, a.m ; calm, cloudy and muggy 12h00 - 14h00 ; sunny spells after 14h00

The weather forecast was for little sun this day, and Keyhaven is a place that I have previously enjoyed visiting for the birds as well as insects. This was then my destination.

I arrived at the car park I usually use and found that it was no longer a free park and only offered 2 or 3 hour tariffs - I settled for the longer stay. By the car park I found a Lapwing looking rather scruffy round the head but with the irridescence on the wings showing beautifully.

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Keyhaven

I spent some time photographing insects, flowers, and a bird or two before I got to Fishtail Lagoon on Keyhaven Marsh, but I won't bother you with any of them here. 

 

Fishtail Lagoon - Keyhaven Marsh

The Fishtail Lagoon area tends to be the most productive in my limited experience. There were many Black-tailed Godwits in various states of plumage on the lagoon and a few were flying in and out.

 

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) - Keyhaven Marsh

Other birds seen included Little Egret (three), and numerous Canada Geese, but I was disappointed at the lack of terns - especially Little Terns that have been present on previous visits. It seems that they may have already bred and moved on.

 

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)  - Keyhaven Marsh

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Keyhaven Marsh

It was now time to continue my circular walk if I was going to get back to my car in time to avoid a parking penalty and still be able to take it at a leisurely pace in the hope of not missing too much.

 

I have found Linnet at this site on my previous visits, and this visit was no exception, with four seen.

 

Linnet (Linaria cannabina) (male) - Keyhaven Marsh

On my return journey I found myself mainly photographing insects. Here are a couple of hoverfly species:-

 

Sphaerophoria scripta (male) - Keyhaven Marsh

Episyrphus balteatus (male) - Keyhaven Marsh

I also saw my first Painted Lady butterfly of the year.

 

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) - Keyhaven Marsh

The wind had dropped, clouds had rolled in, and it felt quite warm and humid. I got back to my car with five minutes to spare on the clock - just enough time to bolt down a late picnic lunch before departing. With the afternoon free, as the girls were off on anorther mission, I decided to try and find a location that I'd heard about, but never sought out. I only had vague directions to Cadnam Moor Pond, but having arrived in the vicinity, it only took me about ten minutes to find it. From a distance it looked quite promising.

Cadnam Moor Pond

On arrival, I could see that there were many dragonflies around and there was a lot of interaction between them. However, few were settling. I'd had a fairly strenuous morning and was well-past my best condition, and my attempts at flight shots failed miserably. However, there was a fairly obliging female Emperor which was ovipositing.

Emperor (Anax imperator) (female - ovipositing) - Cadnam Moor

Emperors oviposit, placing their eggs onto sticks, stems, etc. which are just under water. The chasers, including this Broad-bodied Chaser, are rather more casual about ovipositing, and just dip their rears into the water and let the eggs sink! Sorry for the poor-quality shot.

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) (female - ovipositing) - Cadnam Moor

A Black-tailed Skimmer also obliged by settling on mud, rather than grass.

 

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Cadnam Moor

It clouded over, and the dragonflies were disappearing, and a message from the girls suggested that we meet up for ice cream in Lyndhurst (David will not be surprised to know that this was a daily occurrence!), so it was time to go. Although I'd not managed to photograph anything very exciting, I could see that this place had much potential. I hope to return one day - and this time I will wear my wellington boots!

 

This was our last day. The following day we had to vacate the property by 10h00.

 

Friday, 16th July          West Kennet Avenue ; Ashton Keynes ; Home

 

          sunny and warm all day - just our luck that this was by far the finest weather day of the week!

 

We all left the property at the same time, our daughter and granddaughter taking the fast route home, whilst Lindsay and I settled for a very pleasant and leisurely cross-country route.

 

The White Horse on the hillside by Alton Barnes is not as old as some, having been cut into the chalk in 1812. Not the best of photos as it was taken through the car windscreen.

 

Alton Barnes White Horse

We stopped at West Kennet Avenue, near Avebury, for a short walk. This is a little older than that white horse, and reckoned to date to around 2,200 BC. Lindsay does love standing stones!

 

West Kennet Avenue - near Avebury

We arrived at Ashton Keynes at a perfect time for lunch in the garden at our favoured White Hart Inn. As always, the food was good, but the real highlight was the Southern Hawker that flew into the garden and settled in a tree. I'd left my camera in the car, so made a quick scoot to retrieve it and was relieved to find the dragonfly still there on my return. It was so confiding that when a fellow diner who was sitting adjacent to the tree said that he couldn't see it, I was able to place my index finger about 10 cm from its head before he saw it, and it didn't disturb it.

 

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) (immature female) - Ashton Keynes

After lunch, we had our customary stroll to the River Thames, which is no more than a narrow stream at this point. There were a few damselflies around.

 

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (male) + Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) - Ashton Keynes

We then had a gentle and uneventful drive home, arriving mid-afternoon.

 

It had been a splendid holiday in a wonderful location, in spite of the weather not being that helpful. I hope that it will not be too long before we return to the area.

Thank you for your visit to this blog. I have my next blog post in mind and it will be a little different to my usual output. This will probably appear in about a week's time from now (19th August).

Take good care of Nature and Nature will take good care of you.