Arrived at the park around 07:30 and stayed to midday, so I covered the whole park with a couple of areas looked at twice! I'm doing the Patchwork Challenge here this year, and was really pleased to add an additional five species to my year's tally and not one of them was a returning summer migrant!
To put that in to some sort of context, so far this year I have visited the park nineteen times, I knew I was missing a couple of resident species Jay & Jackdaw but to see two pretty scarce species for the park was a real bonus. A Common Buzzard was seen flying behind and just below the treetops along the western end of the park and frustratingly it never showed above the trees for a photo before moving off west. Soon after two Skylarks flew low over the new wetland area beside the Mayes Brook, I may well have flushed them but they headed north until lost to view. And the fifth species was Little Grebe a pair were on the wildlife pond and single probably a different bird was on the boating lake.
To put that in to some sort of context, so far this year I have visited the park nineteen times, I knew I was missing a couple of resident species Jay & Jackdaw but to see two pretty scarce species for the park was a real bonus. A Common Buzzard was seen flying behind and just below the treetops along the western end of the park and frustratingly it never showed above the trees for a photo before moving off west. Soon after two Skylarks flew low over the new wetland area beside the Mayes Brook, I may well have flushed them but they headed north until lost to view. And the fifth species was Little Grebe a pair were on the wildlife pond and single probably a different bird was on the boating lake.
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| Little Grebe one of a pair which never came close so heavily cropped |
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| Mallard - wonder what he is saying? |
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| distant Jay |
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| Long-tailed Tits still nest building |
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| Long-tailed Tits still nest building |
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| Long-tailed Tits still nest building |
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| Their well hidden nest, one of them is trying it out for size. In a week or two it will be completely hidden as the vegetation greens up! |
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| Long-tailed Tits still nest building |
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| Wren |
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| another Little Grebe this time slightly closer! |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Long-tailed Tits still nest building |
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| male Green Woodpecker, female would have no red in her moustachial stripe. |
