Any remaining clouds cleared late afternoon and a warm, still evening, showed this reserve off to its very best. A view of the reedbed lake with assembling Lapwings. Leaving the car at the far end of Dryham Lane, there was a general panic among the Common Terns on the Ings. I soon found an adult Peregrine, one of two birds seen, to be the likely cause of concern. The terns didn't hesitate in flying up to the Peregrine and chasing it off. I spent much of my time around the reedbed lake as so far, I still haven't seen the Bearded Tits which are on the Reserve. I did manage to hear two 'pings' from the beardies during my time watching, but only saw Reed Bunting and several Reed Warblers still carrying food. The 'eclipse' male Garganey was on this lake and came from the far side to feed close to the hide. The only wading birds apart from a Little Egret and Grey Heron were the Lapwings which increased in numbers to around forty birds. Hirundines of all the usual species were seen at the lake, a Common Buzzard passed over and I made my way to the Ings. A few Black-headed Gulls remain with their young, as are the Common Terns which appear to have done well. The ducks have bred well also, below are three of the Shelduck with young Shoveler in the foreground. Another resident I haven't seen for some time is the drake Mandarin. He is also in eclipse plumage now but looks quite smart, in his own way! The sun was beginning to set as I checked the Main Lake, much quieter now the Black-headed Gulls have completed their breeding. I was pleased to see two Kingfishers chase each other around the edge of the lake. As it became dusk, the Barn Owls appeared. I saw at least two and possibly a third. I say this because of the direction in which the owls flew off, carrying food to their nest sites. Their were plenty of small mammals to be found and the owls were returning to the nests quite frequently.
Comments are closed.
|
|