An Evening Stroll and Other News

Another week of furlough, and things are carrying on pretty much as they have for the last seven weeks or so-I'm losing track of time as there is very little variation day to day.
Although there have been some lockdown easing, I have largely continued with the doctors letter to stay at home as much as possible, apart from shopping and the daily walk. However last Wednesday I paid a visit to Sarah and Ed, this being the first time I have left the Stevenage environs since early April, and the first long drive since then. I last filled up with petrol in late March and I still have well over half a tank left.
It was nice to see them again, and it was good to have a change of scenery as well. Naturally I took the opportunity to offload some plants, but somehow managed to bring back a lot more. Still I have lots of time to sort them out. Their garden was very good for butterflies as they were still getting Brimstone, Orange Tips as well as various whites, a Holly Blue or tow and my first Common Blue. Birdwise the only thing of note was a flyover Hobby.
Fairlands Valley is getting busier as the temperature increases, and it was rather crowded on the bank holiday weekend. Migration has largely ceased now and most of the birds are settling down so its getting a bit quieter. There seem to be two pairs of Great Crested Grebes at the moment but otherwise the only notable sightings seem to be the ever increasing Canada geese flock which has at times passed 100. One or two Coot and Moorhens have chicks, but the wildfowl don't appear to be nesting.
Aston End has also got a bit quiet now, though I am still seeing decent numbers of Yellowhammer, Linnets and larks. I tend to go out early to miss the heat as it is quite a long walk, and so haven't seen many butterflies and insects yet. There are a few Swallows and Swifts around, but I haven't seen a Martin out here at all.

Yesterday I tried something a bit different and went out in the evening, in fact I didn't get home until 1015pm well after sunset.
One thing I noticed was a completely different set of results with my counts. More Blackbirds and Song Thrushes singing-not surprising really, and lots of vocal Robins and Wrens, but of course far lower numbers of Skylarks singing, and apart from Blackcaps most warblers, finches and buntings were hard to locate.
The first surprise was a singing Corn Bunting in a weedy field near the ford. This is the first I have heard here for at least five years. The second was nearly being run over by a Badger along the Walkern Road. I was walking along the footpath, hidden from the road when a car suddenly appeared, presumably just as the Badger was crossing the road, it shot through the hedge only ten feet from me into the wheat field.
Thinking that would be it I carried on heading north towards a rather fine sun set. The Little Owls were out around the paddocks and sheep fields and two showed well, though one was being chased by a Blackbird so I didn't see it for long, but the other spent some time on an old barn.
A bit later on as I headed up towards Chells Manor, the light had really dropped so I dug out the bat detector and connected it to the phone. There were several bats flying around, with several Common Pipistrelles and I got two consecutive hits which came up initially as Lesser Noctule, which isn't a British species and then moments later it came up with the much more likely and very common Noctule. I haven't yet checked to see what if any the differences are between the two, or whether the detector made a mistake.

At Christmas, I received a tuber of Dranunculus vulgaris from Sarah. It flowered today. I had to move it to the bottom of the garden as like many of the arums it is a bit pungent, but it certainly attracted the flies. In the pot, the spathe is almost at nose hight and the musky rotting meat scent was certainly noticeable!

Half Way Through Week 5

I'm certainly enjoying my enforced work break-I can really see the attraction of retirement though its still some years ahead of me unfortunately.
The birding is still confined to the two different areas that I can get to.
Fairlands Valley has been my go-to when the weather has been amp or cloudy, on the assumption that it will bring migrants down onto the lake shore. Not really happened for me yet, though another local, Andy Day has picked up a few Common Sandpipers on his early visits. One was last Sunday, which I must have missed by an hour or so, but, on the other hand, I decided to head down into Monkswood for the first time in probably ten years and was surprised to hear a Cuckoo! Apparently the first in the valley for many many years, but it only lingered for a few minutes. Otherwise the valley has been pretty much the same on every visit, however numbers of singing warblers have been gradually dropping, and other species are getting a bit harder to find as the breeding season is well under way, and proclaiming territories is no longer a priority.
There have been a few odd ducks now and again, with a pair of Shoveller a few weeks ago, and more recently a pair of Tufted Duck stayed for a couple of days. Hirundines have been regular, with Swallows every day, a few House Martins (now rather scarce in Stevenage) and more recently a few flocks of Swifts have fed over the lakes.
Over in Aston End and Chells Manor, migrants have also been a bit tough. Most of the warblers are now on territory. The Willows that I found in early April appear to have departed, and they are now far less likely to summer these days. On the other hand, there seem to be an awful lot of Blackcaps, Whitethroats and, in particular Lesser Whitethroats this year. Linnets were tough to find earlier this year, but I have found a couple of flocks in the last month, and it appears that Yellowhammer  numbers are healthy.
The route I take has been pretty constant over the last 25 years or so, with the occasional slight detour, but today I decided to do it in reverse and start at Chells Manor. One of the dog walking couples I see now and again have told me that there is still a herd of Fallow Deer here, and I hoped that an early start might be beneficial before it got too busy. I had considered then going north up towards Boxwood and maybe into Walkern, but decided instead the head north east to reach the river just south of Walkern. I think I have really missed something. I knew that there were a few sheep being grazed here but discovered that there lots of fields with short grass, fences and gates-I wonder how many Wheatears have passed through this spot? One thing I did get was a Grey partridge with what appeared to be two chicks.
The river here as I headed south looked promising as well. As I reached the more familiar fields and stable blocks I was very pleased to see a Little Owl fly low and into a hedge. This isn't far from the old nest spot, and while I have heard birds once or twice this was the first actual sighting for around four years. A little way on, a low flying white bird some way away was assumed to be an egret, but once I got it in the bins I was shocked too see a Barn Owl. It stopped in a hawthorn briefly, and its really a pity I don't have a suitable camera at the moment as it was a stunning sight.
Definitely a route to take when I get round to an evening walk.

In the garden, I have been very busy, working most days and gradually getting things in shape for the rest of the year. There have been a few distractions of course.
I get daily flyovers by the local Kite and less regular sightings of Buzzards. Its usually one of the local breeding Carrion Crows that see them first, and the noise they make mobbing there raptors that attract my attention.
Butterflies are more frequent as its getting warmer, with plenty of Small and Green Veined Whites. I have a couple of big Honesty patches this year as well as Sweet Rocket, and so there are lots of Orange Tips visiting. Less regular are the vanessids, with only the odd Peacock, Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral. Although I no longer have any ivy, several Holly Blues pop in.
On Sunday I had my first Large Red Damselfly around the pond, and they are now being seen daily. However there hasn't as of yet been anything else, though I expect to see a few Azures a bit later this month.