Bluebells

I went for a walk yesterday around Aston End, taking a few camera lenses including a new one-a Zeiss 135mm f2. Rather heavy camera bag with all the metal bodied manual focus lenses, even though I left a few things behind but I thought it would be worth it.
When I first left, there was still a bit of frost in the more shaded areas but it quickly burnt off and it ended up being a nice warm sunny spring day. Probably not ideal conditions for migrant birds.
Warblers were obvious, with 8 Chiffchaffs and 6 Blackcaps counted (singing birds) on my circuit, and I also picked up my first Whitethroat near the paddocks by the river. I also had two or three Green Woodpeckers, and four drumming Great Spotted Woodpeckers. A small flock of Linnets and later on nine Yellowhammers feeding in one of the recently sown fields was nice. Unfortunately as expected, there was no sign of any Wheatear, Redstart or Ring Ousel even though a few of the fields looked to be ideal for them. No hirundines either.
Despite the weather, I only saw a few raptors, mainly Buzzards, including three mobbing a Red Kite. Yet again there was no hint of any Little Owls in the regular area so I have to conclude that since it has been over a year since my last sighting that they have gone from the area.
Spent the entire walk trying out the new 135mm lens-Ive had it a few weeks now but not really had much of won opportunity to use it. Its very heavy, razor thin depth of field at f2 and ideally needs to be used with a tripod rather than hand held, but the results are promising. I concentrated on the Blackthorn, now flowering abundantly, one of the Willows near the river, and the small wood which is now looking absolutely superb with the bluebells. Unfortunately a large proportion appear to be hybrids with the Spanish species.

Amwell Migrants

I spent this morning at Amwell. Woke up to rain, which eased off for a bit but it started up again as I left and took a while before its eased off, and for the rest of the morning we had warm sunny spells alternating with cool cloudy spells.
I arrived at nine, and found Tony Wileman and William at the viewpoint. Both had been there for some time and looked rather damp. A quick scan was not inspiring-the water levels are still far too high though now that Barry is back the sluice has been attended to and some muddy edges are  starting to appear. My first Swallow appeared soon after I arrived-small numbers were moving through all morning. Apparently I missed a large flock of Sand Martins and was told they would be at Tumbling Bay along with a Willow Warbler, so once they had left I headed that way.
Picked up a singing Sedge Warbler somewhere near the James hide, a couple of Cetti's and there were Chiffchaffs everywhere. The Willow Warbler was near the lock in birches which also contained Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits, at least one pair of Blackcaps and some Dunnocks. The Willow was singing at the top of a birch and was a bit too high for a decent photo. Unfortunately there was not a great deal on Tumbling Bay itself so I returned and went to the Hollycross feeders.
Very little here as well, some tits and Greenfinches were on the feeders plus the usual Pheasants. Great and Green Woodpeckers were heard here. It would have been nice to get the Marsh Tit as well but it has been rather hard to locate this year. On the way back a rather tame Coot on the towpath posed for a few images.

Barry and Bill were at the viewpoint. More hirundines were going through, mainly Swallows but I eventually got some Sand and House Martins. On the island, the regular Oystercatcher pair had appeared, joining the four Redshanks. Two Snipe were also around (having managed to survive the Sparrowhawk) and of course Lapwing are always here. Pretty good wader selection for the day, and it got better when some guys called out the incoming Black Tailed Godwit. Unfortunately it did not linger, spending about ten minutes before flying south and dropping in at Rye Meads.

Once it warmed up a bit raptors started to appear-2-4 Kites, many Buzzards, at least 3 Sparrowhawks and two Kestrels. Warblers were more evident with another two Willow Warblers singing, and there were a lot of Blackcaps as well. Just to add to the fun three Egyptian geese dropped in before I left, giving me a day list of 58, and I missed quite a bit as well.
Shortly after I got home, I popped out into the garden briefly and heard a distant singing Willow Warbler. Couldn't figure out quite where it was and after a few minutes it stopped.

The Brecks

Having been rather busy the last couple of days I've only just got round to sorting out my photos from the weekend.
Since I had commitments on Sunday, I phoned Colin and arranged a trip for Saturday. The weather looked nice, and there was a reasonable assortment of things to go for, migrants were coming in, butterflies were out in number (not that I had seen any yet this year) so it was merely a case of choosing somewhere. As happens so often this time of year we went to Thetford Forest and the Brecks rather than travel a long way and hopefully avoid any Easter holiday traffic.
A quick call in at Foxhole Heath did not produce a great deal apart from a flock of Linnets and Yellowhammers, and singing Skylarks. The road was rather busy so it was not possible to linger long.
Our first real port of call was Grimes Graves, even though it wasn't open. Walking down the entrance track, being serenaded by Mistle Thrush, Siskin, Nuthatch, Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs was a good start, though it would have been nice to get some Crossbills. We met up with a couple of guys who had been there some time and soon the rather distant Great Grey Shrike appeared. Apparently it had been a lot closer earlier-typical. I managed to get some video footage on the phone, though with the distance and heat haze I don't think its all that great. I might post a clip on my Youtube channel later.
We then went to Lyndford arboretum. The south car park, by the paddocks appears to be shut so we had to go to the main one in the arboretum. My first Blackcap was singing as I got out of the car, and there were more Nuthatches and Siskins around. The feeding station only had a few Great and Blue Tits so we carried on to the paddocks stopping off for a nice male Siskin and a Treecreeper.

At the paddocks I got my first butterflies-Brimstone and Peacock. The Hawfinches had been down earlier and we had to wait a while before tow or three flew back in. Nice views of a male bird high in the tree in the scope but as soon as I hooked the phone up it dropped down into the back of the tree and was then lost to view. I had a hunch they were feeding on the ground and sure enough through the scope I could see at least one now and then though the vegetation made things very difficult.
The Muntjac proved a bit easier to see.

After an unsuccessful  drive round some of the roads in the area checking for Goshawk and Woodlarks we called in at Weeting Heath and spent a while in the west hide. Two Buzzards were on the deck on the ridge and their presence meant that birds were scarce apart from Lapwing. Eventually crows drove the Buzzards off and two Stone Curlews appeared and seemed to perform a rather subdued display, and with tails cocked we thought they might mate until they settled down.
For various reasons, we wanted to finish rather early in the day so made Lakenheath our last destination. As expected there was a large crowd waiting outside at the feeder hoping the Willow Tit would appear, though chatting to one of them some had been there a long time. Since it's just about the only available bird in East Anglia now that they are virtually extinct in southern England its not surprising it's a popular draw. The only birds we saw round the feeders were some rather smart Reed Buntings.

Colin and I decided to have a look at Hockwold Washes as three Garganey have been present for a couple of days. Lots of duck, with some lingering Teal and Wigeon, several pairs of Shelduck and one Kingfisher flying through. A Marsh Harrier put in a brief appearance. We started to head west along the public footpath when I heard a tit with a rather buzzing call. It took a few seconds before it dawned on me that the Willow Tit was nearby. A frantic scan of the sallows behind me resulted in a rather too brief view of the bird in the top of one of the bushes before it flew-apparently towards the visitors centre and the feeders. We rushed down to where I had seen it last letting a couple of others know, but despite waiting some time there was no further sign. The smart looking Redpolls were nice though.
Before getting home we stopped off on the Eyeworth-Aswell-Newnham roads and the manure heaps as Mike Illett had reported Wheaters earlier in the day. Unfortunately none were seen, though he found more on Sunday-along with White and Yellow Wagtails.

Easter Break

Four days off for Easter and the weather has been really great-thanks to the latest storm it was snowing briefly this morning and the strong winds of are only now subsiding.
Actually I ended up with five days off, due to an unplanned Thursday in. I got home on Wednesday to discover a leak in one of the pipes near the boiler. Had to shut the water off at the main. We are covered for maintenance, so I phoned for an emergency plumber. He rang over three hours later to say he had only just received the job, was in London and wouldn't be able to get to us. Thursday morning I rang, was told we would be treated as high priority and someone would be along in the morning. I rang again at 1215, and was promised a visit by 2, rang again at 2.30 and  we finally got someone at 3.40. So nearly 24 hours without water and we were high priority! Its partly fixed but they are coming back to replace a section of pipe.
So Good Friday arrived and it was a nice sunny morning, clear blue sky and needing to chill out I went to Amwell. William was there having turned up very early hoping to connect with the previous evening's roosting Sand Martins. They must have gone at first light unfortunately. In fact apart from the three Redshanks, things were very quiet with very little movement. The rather strong at times cold northerly probably had something to do with it, and the clear blue skies didn't help. Apparently the water levels are being kept a bit higher than usual for breeding ducks, but as a result there is hardly any muddy edges for passage waders and the islands are very small. About the only other birds of note were the Buzzards everywhere, with maybe 15 on view at times.
William and I decided to go for a walk as it was rather nice and warm out of the wind. We had one or two singing Chiffchaff on the walkway but nothing else. A Brimstone or Tortoiseshell would have been nice. Blackthorn is already flowering in one or two spots, and one of the Hawthorns is in leaf.
Phil is away so the Hollycross feeders have been neglected-William filled  them but all we had were a few tits coming down.
We met up with Bill at the viewpoint but apart from a build up of Common and Herring Gulls it was pretty much the same so we all decided to call it a day.
Saturday and Sunday was a bit indifferent with showers, rain and wind. National bird news seemed to  be a bit slow-reasonable numbers of early migrants but nothing to justify a day out, so I spent the drier periods working in the garden. More Martins have been reported at Amwell, as well as the first Swallows, and the masochists who went there this morning in the gales were eventually rewarded with an Osprey. I preferred to stay in with a bottle or two.

Not Quite Spring

Its the middle of March, and its time to think of early migrants. Over the last few weeks there have been a few Sand Martin and Little Ringed Plover reports, and some Ospreys are already back at their nest sites. Round here I have to set my sights a little lower, and round about now some of the locals should be over at Norton Green searching for and hopefully reporting the first Wheatears. Mind you its been a bit up and down with the weather-last weeks warm sunshine has been replaced by rather cold northerlies and things have been a bit quiet as a result.
Saturday started off rather cold, damp drizzle and things didn't really get much better. It wasn't very nice when the breeze picked up but in sheltered spots it didn't feel too bad. Having set off after breakfast, I had no definite plans, so Amwell is the usual destination, but at the last minute decided to carry on and ended up at Rye Meads instead. Sitting in hides seemed a bit more attractive than standing around at the rather exposed viewpoint.
I spent some time at the Draper hide waiting for something to happen. Due to the high water levels, the islands were rather small and were largely occupied by lots of Black Headed Gulls with a few Common Gulls. A couple of 1w Herrings were also present along with a more interesting 4w type Herring. It seemed a bit flat headed, long billed, small eyed and the legs were not really pink. It looked a bit Caspianish and out of the water, the more upright stance added to the impression, but it just didn't seem right to be one. I took a few pictures, and watched it for a bit, then the artist and Rye Meads ringer Alan Harris turned up, so I pointed it out to him. His view was that it was just a rather odd Herring.

Walking up to the lagoons didn't produce much apart from a few tits and several Cetti's Warblers. Finches seemed to be in short supply, whether the recent work clearing some of the banks and shrub pruning have anything to do with it I don't know-Chaffinches and Greenfinches were singing but there was no sign of any Bullfinch or the wintering Brambling.
The lagoons didn't have much either so I carried on to the Warbler hide overlooking the Meads. Large areas of reed have been cleared, revealing the ditches and ponds, so it is much more open. One Green Sandpiper was the only bird of note however.
I made my way back with a stop off at the Kingfisher hide. It seemed a bit quiet here as well, but for a brief moment as the sun broke through, a Chiffchaff started singing. It shut up very quickly when the sun went in, but at least it hinted of spring. One of the Kingfishers flew in for a few minutes, sitting on one of the posts beside the nest bank, but then flew off. Lots of nice perches have been put up in front of the hide, but it decided to stay as far away as possible. As a result my images weren't all that great.

A Long Weekend

Three days into a four day weekend, using up some spare time and holidays.
Spent Friday and Saturday working in the garden-I couldn't go out as we were waiting for a couple of deliveries. Its nice in the warm spring sunshine, but it got rather too warm as I spent the time digging up a couple of shrubs that were well past their best, and though moving some perennials and transplanting seedling foxgloves wasn't too bad. The local Buzzards are enjoying the warm sunshine too-it doesn't seem all that long ago that Colin and I twitched our first Hertfordshire Buzzard and now I have them displaying over the garden in the middle of Stevenage.
Birds visiting the garden haven't changed a great deal. Still getting the same two Collared Doves, three Goldfinches, two Dunnocks, two Robins, and Wood Pigeons, Blue Tits and Blackbirds. Have not seen the Wren recently but it is still around and I guess is going to nest nearby. Also, we have had the Long Tailed Tits coming in, and today they were collecting pigeon feathers so there is obviously going to be a nest nearby soon. Just hope the cats don't find it.
As Colin is busy this weekend I was planned to go for a walk around Aston End this morning, but woke up to thick fog. This was rather slow to lift but by 0930 the Sun was breaking through so I headed off. It was rather chilly at first but soon warmed up, though there was a cool northerly breeze now and then. News of a Sand Martin at Wilstone and a few Wheatears on the south coast was encouraging but the best I could hope for was a singing Chiffchaff.
Heading through the plantation and into Long Lane, Coal and Great Tits, Chaffinches and Goldcrests were singing and the first of three Great Spotted Woodpeckers was drumming. Also one Mistle Thrush and several Blackbirds were singing. Walking into Aston End, several Greenfinches were singing, a Green Woodpecker called and a couple of Skylarks flew over.
More Skylarks in the fields south of Aston End down towards the ford, with a few Yellowhammers in the hedgerows. A couple of the fields are rather bare, having either been recently ploughed or planted,  so it was worth scanning them just in case an early Wheatear had dropped in-just larks and Wood Pigeons.
Walking along the Walkern road did not get me much, one Buzzard and one Red Kite. Would have expected to have heard Bullfinch or Nuthatch, but I did hear two Tawny Owls calling from High Wood. By the time I got down to the river Beane I was encountering thrushes, a few Redwing and Blackbird but predominantly Fieldfare. Numbers were as usual difficult to estimate with small parties everywhere and moving around constantly. Rather more unusual was a flyover Stock Dove-not even annual around here.
Blackthorn was in bud by the paddocks and a few of the cherries were flowering, and the willow catkins were out in force.. Although warm and sheltered here, I did not see any butterflies, but the bees were enjoying the pollen. talking of which, one of the weekend deliveries was the new Bee field guide by Falk and Lewington. Talk about overwhelming. I struggle with moths but they look easy by comparison. I have a sneaking suspicion that the garden (bumble) bee list that I compiled many years ago based on an old insect guide is no more than 10% accurate and only fit for the bin.

Amwell-Its Been a while

Its the start of March, Spring is almost here and so far I have only been out four times this year, and visited Amwell once back in January-I try and get down most weekends for a few hours. With no obvious birds to go for nationally, and with commitments tomorrow I paid my second visit this morning.
I must admit it did not look good. We had a bit of a frost, there was a bit of sleet when I filled the feeders and snow arrived during breakfast, but I left anyway. Through Stevenage, the ice warning in the car came on-temeparture was zero, and the sleet and snow increased as I made my way down the A505, though it got a bit warmer and the snow turned to light rain.
The singing Nuthatch along the lane was a good start, as were several Song Thrush, singing tits Dunnocks and Chaffinches. There was no-one at the view point, not surprising as it was freezing and still wet. Barry was in the White Hide but I sought shelter in the Gladwyn Hide at the south end. There was no sign of the Smew here, and the only ducks here were some Tufted and a couple of pairs of Goldeneye-the males were starting to display.
Once the sleet eased off I went back up to the view point. Lots of Gulls, the Black Headed Gulls being numerous, and they were starting to claim the tern rafts. There were several Greater Black Baked and Lesser Black Backed, some Herring and Common Gulls as well. Did not see any others...
Most of the duck were here at the north end, mainly Shoveller, Mallard and Gadwall, and hardly any Teal.
After a while I made my way to Hollycross but never got there. Met William outside the gate to James Hide so stopped for a long chat. While enjoying a rather close Goldcrest we received messages, from Barry of two Caspian Gulls, and more importantly a Kittiwake, so we rushed back up to the viewpoint.
I found one of the Caspians on the raft in front of the island, but try as we might we couldn't find the Kittiwake. One Red Kite put in a brief appearance, and the female Sparrowhawk dropped down into the reeds, but surprisingly failed to catch a Snipe. Normally Wigeon are scarce during the day, but a flock of about 20 had flown in while was gone. Eventually Barry arrived with Bill and we were told it was only on view for a few minutes at 0910-just about the time I was enjoying the Nuthatch, and flew off. The Caspian did get a lot closer and posed for the cameras.