Date: 27th April 2021
Time: from 7:15 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 1°C
to 8°C
As on all of my recent visits, it was another lovely sunny morning
although again very cold and with some ground frost to begin with.
However, by the time I left the site to walk home, it was becoming very warm in
the sunshine. It is almost May now so hopefully the winds will soon swing round
to the south and allow the temperatures to increase.
I have no idea if there is a collective
noun for Blackcaps. However, it could be “bonanza” given the number of
records that I had this morning: 6 seen including a red-headed female and a
further 9 heard singing or calling. This is by far the highest count that I
have had this year.
I saw 2 Chiffchaffs and heard a further 4 singing males. One of the Chiffchaff sightings was in the south west corner of the site which is presumably the same singing male that I have seen on my last 2 visits tothis area. What was curious, though, was that it was continuously making a strange and unfamiliar call. Rather than the usual clear, crisp and metronomic “chiff-chaff …. chiff-chaff”, the call was repeated but sounded hoarse and strained. Maybe this Chiffchaff has done so much singing in recent days that he has unfortunately lost his voice 😀. As on my previous visit, I was able to get some photos of this bird.
In the same area of the site, I heard a calling Greenfinch
and then eventually saw it perched at the top of one of the trees which allowed me to get some photos. This has
been my most reliable location for this species although this year I have also
seen it in the cemetery.
Again, as on my last visit, there was an extremely showy and loud singing male Wren perched openly on bushes at the edge of the car park which
enabled me to get some more photos of this usually skulking and elusive
species.
Right at the beginning of my visit,
I saw a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker as it flew over Laindon Park
School playing field to land in a tree adjacent to the school. I failed to see
any Green Woodpeckers on this visit but I did hear 2 calling birds, one in the wooded
area bordering the eastern section of the cemetery and the other in the
vicinity of the church.
Finally, with regard to birds, I
saw 2 fly-over Greylag Geese heading in a north easterly direction.
If there was a “bonanza” of Blackcaps
this morning, my visit was also amazing for the number of Red Foxes that
I saw …. at least 5 different animals and possibly 6, but definitely the highest
count on a single visit.
I saw the first Red Fox almost immediately as I began my visit in the field and scrub area behind Larkins Tyres. I then saw and photographed another from my watchpoint at the northern edge of the site which overlooks a field and the trees, hedges and scrub bordering it. This may have been the same individual moving through. Following this, I had 2 very brief sightings of 2 separate individuals in quick succession in different areas of the central section of the cemetery. Finally, I saw 2 separate individuals cross the grassy strip which runs down from the church car park to St. Nicholas Lane, one of which I managed to get some photos of.
During my visit, I saw a single Reeves’ Muntjac in
the scrub adjacent to the track from Larkins Tyres.
I also saw 7 Grey Squirrels this morning: 1 running along the track from Larkins Tyres, 2 in
the trees bordering the field, 3 in the wooded area between my watchpoint and
the eastern end of the cemetery and 1 in the trees bordering the church car
park. At least 2 of these sightings involved very small individuals which I
presume were juveniles from this year’s first litter.
On my walk home through the woodland at the south
of the site, I saw a single Speckled Wood. In addition, I saw a small
white butterfly .... which wasn’t a Small White! This was probably a
female Orange Tip.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows
(heard only records in italics):
Here are some photos from my visit:
Photo: Red Fox
Mammals = 6 (5)
Butterflies = 21 (5)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7 (0)
Reptiles = 1 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)
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