Date: 9th January 2021
Time: from 10:30 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, -1°C
to 2°C
All my pre-planning went to waste
this morning.
The Met Office weather forecast
last night promised a cold, frosty and sunny morning. Therefore I planned and
set my alarm for an early morning visit to Gloucester Park for the sunrise and reflections
over the lakes, macro photography of the frost plus wildlife photography.
Plan cancelled! …. the morning
dawned misty and the mist continued until about 10:00 a.m.
Plan B therefore involved a visit up
to St. Nicholas Church and the surrounding areas once the sun eventually
appeared.
As on my last visit, I saw c.5 Redwings in
the bushes and trees that border the road by the Czarina Rise/Basildon Road
junction.
I accessed the site as usual via the
still very wet and muddy track from Larkins Tyres. Along the track, I very
quickly heard a House Sparrow calling and then saw a single male in the
bushes. Shortly afterwards, I heard the distinctive “pink, pink” call of a Chaffinch
and then saw a female. I see both these species only occasionally and this
morning’s sightings were very early first site records for the year.
During my visit, I also recorded my
first site record of Great Spotted Woodpecker for the year, a bird
calling continuously and very visible in the tall trees at the end of the track
from Larkins Tyres.
I also saw my first Green
Woodpecker of the year for the site although this species definitely provided
a frustrating experience. During my visit, I heard a very loud and continuously
calling bird in the field/scrubland area to the north of the site and another equally as loud in
the woodland in the eastern area of the cemetery. However, both proved to be
very elusive and refused to show themselves. Eventually, whilst watching and photographing
the Redwings (see below), a Green Woodpecker flew (silently!) through
the western section of the cemetery.
In addition to the woodpeckers, I
saw my first Sparrowhawk of the year for the site with a female flying
over and through the central section of the cemetery where it was intercepted
and harassed by a Carrion Crow before it disappeared from view.
In the western section of the
cemetery, Redwings were again very active flying to and fro
between the trees and berry bushes (especially a Holly bush) and there were at
least c.30 birds in this area. Although conspicuous, the Redwings were very
flighty and when they visited the Holly bush they rarely perched out in the
open. It was therefore a frustrating photography opportunity although patience did reward me with some acceptable photos.
The other highlight in terms of birds was an extremely noisy flock of c.40 Carrion Crows perched in the top of the trees immediately behind the church.
With regard to mammals, I have still yet to see a Red Fox in 2021 but Grey Squirrels were very evident this morning with 8 animals seen: 1 along the track from Larkins Tyres, 3 in the trees bordering the field/scrubland area to the north of the site and 4 in the woodland in the extreme eastern section of the cemetery. There seems to be an increase in pre-breeding activity and 2 Grey Squirrels in eastern section of the cemetery engaged in a stand-off in the trees for over 10 minutes. I am not sure if it was love or intimidation 😀.
Finally, there is an area in the central section of
the cemetery which is designated for the graves of young children. Today, there was a
particularly poignant sight of a “Santa …. Stop here” sign by the grave of
Kevin Rayer aged just 5 and a half years old when he died a week before Christmas in
1959. I hope that Santa did indeed stop by for Kevin who is evidently still loved and remembered after 61 years.
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn." - Laurence Binyon
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Great Tit
Robin
Redwing
Blackbird
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Sparrowhawk
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Herring Gull
Here are some photos from my visit:
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwing
Photo: Redwings
Photo: Blue Tit
Photo: Carrion Crows
Photo: Carrion Crow
Photo: Carrion Crows
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Holly bush proving to be so attractive to Redwings
Site
totals to date (2021 totals in brackets):
Mammals = 6 (1)
Butterflies = 21 (0)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7 (0)
Reptiles = 1 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)
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