Date: 7th April 2021
Time: from 7:15 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, moderate wind, -1°C
to 1°C
On my way to Gloucester Park, I
heard a singing male Blackcap as I crossed the road near the St.
Nicholas Lane/Cranes Farm Road/Upper Mayne roundabout.
This morning was again very sunny
and colder than yesterday when I visited my St.
Nicholas Church local patch site. However, despite the sub-zero temperature and
extensive ground frost, it didn’t feel quite as cold since the wind had
dropped.
There were several highlights to
my visit this morning but 4 notable records in particular.
Firstly, I saw a Little Egret flying westwards
high over the main lake. This was my first record for the site and brought my site total for bird
species to 46.
Secondly, I added 3 species to my site
list for the year: Blackcap (see below), Lesser Black-backed Gull
(a single bird amongst the Black-headed Gulls on the small lake at the southern edge of the site) and Grey
Wagtail (a presumed female foraging on the edge of the main lake at the
eastern end).
The sighting of a Grey Wagtail was not just my first at the site this year but also my first record anywhere in the UK this
year.
On my last visit to the site on 27th March 2021, I recorded
my first Chiffchaff of the year, albeit a distantly singing male which I
failed to see. This morning, I saw my first singing male Chiffchaff and
again heard another distantly singing male. In addition, I recorded the other
common summer visiting warbler with the sighting of a male singing Blackcap
plus 2 other singing males around the site.
The other highlights from my visit were 2 Green
Woodpeckers flying through the area between the main lake and the small lake at the eastern
end of the site, a distantly calling Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Grey
Heron perched at the side of the main lake.
With regard to water birds, I saw
the following scattered across the main lake and the 2 smaller lakes: c.50 Canada Geese,
8 Greylag Geese, c.10 Mallards and a
few Coots and Moorhens. There was a Coot
sitting on its nest on the
small lake at the eastern end
of the site.
In addition, there were 5 Cormorants perched
in the trees on the island in the main lake.
With regard to mammals,
I saw a single Brown Rat at the
edge of the main lake at the eastern end (it had clearly been in a fight given its bloodied
right eye) and a single Grey Squirrel in a tree in the area between the main lake and the small lake at the eastern
end of the site.
Species recorded during this visit
were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Here are some photos from my visit:
Photo: Grey Wagtail
Photo: Grey Wagtail
Photo: Grey Wagtail
Photo: Grey Heron
Photo: Grey Heron
Photo: male Mallard
Photo: female Mallard
Photo: female Mallard
Photo: Canada Geese
Photo: Canada Goose
Photo: Canada Goose
Photo: Greylag Goose
Photo: Greylag Goose
Photo: Coot
Photo: Moorhen
Photo: Black-headed Gull
Photo: Black-headed Gull
Photo: Woodpigeon
Photo: Goldfinch
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Grey Squirrel
Photo: Brown Rat
Photo: Brown Rat
Site totals to date (2021 totals in brackets):
Mammals = 2 (2)
Butterflies = 1 (0)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 0 (0)
Reptiles = 0 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)
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