Date: 25th March 2021
Time: from 7 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light/moderate
wind, 4°C to 9°C
The evening “eyestrain specials” looking for nocturnal wildlife have recommenced and now so
have the “early morning specials”.
Starting
at 7 a.m., this was my earliest visit to the site this year and my start time
will become earlier still after the clocks go forward this coming Saturday/Sunday
night.
My
early start this morning was prompted by last night’s weather forecast which
suggested it would be a bright and sunny morning and so it proved to be.
It
also turned out to be my best site visit this year so far in terms of the species list
recorded …. 25 bird species and 3 mammal species ….and there were many
highlights.
I accessed
the site as usual via the track from Larkins Tyres and then, on reaching
the clearing, I took the short track through the woodland to the fencing that
provides a watchpoint to scan the field and the trees, hedges and scrub
bordering it.
From here, I saw 2 Mallards (a male
and a female) flying rapidly over the northern part of the site. This record was
a new addition to my site list for the year, bringing the
total to 34 bird species.
Almost as soon as I arrived at the
watchpoint, I heard a calling Pheasant and then saw a male emerge from
the scrub and slowly cross the field in front of me. This is possibly the same
bird that I saw on 9th March 2021 in the same area.
From this location, I also heard an almost
continually singing male Chiffchaff close by which I saw on 2 separate
occasions and I heard another singing very distantly to the north. I heard a
third singing bird in the woodland adjacent to Church Hill as I walked home.
Success with Chiffchaffs was
equaled by success with Blackcaps, the other common summer visiting warbler to the site.
On my visit on 26th February 2021, I had my first Blackcap record of the year for the site, albeit a “heard only” record of a singing male. This morning,
I heard and then eventually saw a singing male in the extreme south west of the
site where it borders Pound Lane (where I heard my first bird of the year) and
I saw another silently foraging in the hedges at the edge of the eastern
section of the cemetery.
The watchpoint
overlooking the field and the trees, hedges and scrub produced several other
sightings including a soaring Common Buzzard (albeit very distantly to
the north west), 4 Green Woodpeckers flying through (2 singles and a
pair together), a calling and displaying male Greenfinch and 4 individual fly-over
Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
I heard another extremely noisy and persistently calling
Green Woodpecker in the wooded area at the eastern end of the cemetery
and I had a brief sighting of this bird. There was also another calling Green
Woodpecker in the
woodland adjacent to Church Hill as I walked home.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been far less conspicuous on my recent visits
and this morning was no different with a briefly calling bird in the area
between the watchpoint and the cemetery. At the watchpoint, I also heard what I
think was this species tapping away in the tree canopy.
With regard to mammals, I had an extremely brief
sighting of a Red Fox from the watchpoint when one emerged from the
hedges and scrub on the far right side before promptly turning back and
disappearing from view.
In the central section of the cemetery, I had an
extremely close view of a Reeves’ Muntjac as it crossed slowly from one side
to the other.
During this visit, I saw 4 Grey Squirrels: 1
feeding and then dozing in the sunshine in the trees at the edge of the field and
4 together in the eastern section of the cemetery, initially on the ground and out
in the open before they scampered up the nearest trees.
Finally, I saw 5 to 10 Bumblebees, most of which I
think were either White-tailed Bumblebees or Buff-tailed Bumblebees,
2 of the commonest and earliest species to emerge in spring.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows
(heard only records in italics):
Here are some photos from my
visit:
Photo: Reeves' Muntjac
Photo: Reeves' Muntjac
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: male Pheasant
Photo: male Pheasant
Photo: heavily cropped record shot of singing male Chiffchaff
Photo: Jay
Photo: Jay
Photo: Robin
Photo: Magpie
Photo: Woodpigeon
Site totals to date
(2021 totals in brackets):
Mammals = 6 (4)
Butterflies = 21 (2)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7 (0)
Reptiles = 1 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)
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