Date: 6th April 2021
Time: from 7:45 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, moderate wind, 0°C
to 1°C
On my last visit on 30th March 2021, it was sunny and temperatures increased to 15°C. It was my best site visit this year so far in terms of the
species list recorded …. 28 bird species, 3 mammal
species and 4 butterfly species.
After the light snow showers yesterday, it was even colder this
morning with temperatures barely above freezing and feeling significantly lower
than that with the moderate wind chill. Ground frost remained in sheltered areas shaded from the sun.
Whilst it was very sunny, the return to winter definitely had an impact on the bird species that I
saw and/or heard and my species list was much lower than my last visit. Needless to say, I saw no
butterflies.
However, the cold weather did not seem to
discourage the Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps with both species still
welcoming the spring with their instantly recognisable songs. I saw 2 singing
male Chiffchaffs and heard 4 others plus I saw 2 singing male Blackcaps
and a single red-headed female. Records of both
species were at various locations around the site.
Other than that, the only other highlights
of my visit were a singing Goldcrest in the area of tall conifer
trees in the south west corner of the site (my first site record since 9th March 2021), 2 calling Green Woodpeckers,
one somewhere to the south of the church and the other in the wooded area at
the end of the track from Larkins Tyres, and a single fly-over Black-headed
Gull.
With regard to mammals, I had
almost given up on seeing any Red Foxes and assumed that they were all having a “duvet
day” given the cold temperature but, whilst at the usual watchpoint scanning the
field, I heard a rustling behind me and as I turned round, I saw a Red Fox
running through the trees just 20 feet or so from my position.
I also saw 2 Grey Squirrels from
the watchpoint, one of which was perched precariously almost at the top of the
largest tall tree bordering the field.
There are still masses of daffodils in the cemetery
albeit some are now dying off, horse chestnut buds continue to emerge and both
dandelions and daisies are now making an appearance. The majority of the scrub
and hedgerow areas are now a brilliant white with flowering Blackthorn plus
there are a few patches of pink flowering cherry.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows
(heard only records in italics):
Mammals = 6 (4)
Butterflies = 21 (4)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7 (0)
Reptiles = 1 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)
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