Wednesday 12 May 2021

Visit to Noak Bridge Nature Reserve – 12th May 2021

Date: 12th May 2021

Time: from 6:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 7°C to 11°C

I had a very successful visit early this morning with several highlights.

Firstly, at the end of my visit, and as I walked back along the track from the Spanish Steps to the bridge over the A127, I heard an alarm calling Garden Warbler plus a few brief snatches of song. Due to the continual noise of traffic on the A127 and the dense vegetation beside the track, it proved impossible to locate the bird so this was unfortunately a "heard only" record. However, it was my first record for the site and brought my site total for bird species to 43. It also followed my recent "heard-only" record of a Garden Warbler at Asda! …. see here.

Secondly, I added Common Whitethroat to my site list for the year with 2 singing males and a possible female in the hedges forming the edge of the East Meadow and the boundary of the reserve. Unlike the 5 singing males that I saw during my visit to RSPB Rainham Marshes on 21st April 2021 and the 20 singing males that I saw on my visit to RSPB Canvey Wick on 5th May 2021, this morning’s birds were either very skulking or very flighty resulting in no photos. At least the Common Whitethroats have arrived. I have neither seen nor heard a Lesser Whitethroat at the site this year to date.

Thirdly, I also added House Sparrow to my site list for the year with c.10 in the bushes just along the main track from the storage shed by Thorny Wood.

In addition, whilst watching the Common Whitethroats, I saw a male and female Bullfinch in the same area as they flew several times to and fro along the hedge line.

With regard to the other summer visiting warblers, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were still very evident across the whole site. 

I saw 3 singing male Blackcaps and a single red-headed female and I heard a further 7 birds (either singing males or alarm calling males/females). I also saw 2 singing male Chiffchaffs and I heard a further 2 singing males.

The other bird highlights during my visit were a single Moorhen again on Meadow Pond (possibly an incubating bird at a nest in the middle of the pond), a male and female Mallard on Fox Pond and a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker near the Spanish Steps.

Despite arriving very early and before anyone else, I failed to see any Red Fox cubs or adults. However, I did see 3 Grey Squirrels: 2 in the trees around Fox Pond and another in trees opposite the storage shed. 

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Common Whitehroat
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Robin
Wren
House Sparrow
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Bullfinch
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Moorhen
Mallard
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull

Grey Squirrel

Here are some photos from my visit:















Photo: Grey Squirrel















Photo: Moorhen















Photo: male and female Mallard















Photo: male and female Mallard















Photo: male House Sparrow

Site totals to date (2021 totals in brackets):

Birds = 43  (37)    
Mammals = 2  (1)
Butterflies = 18  (1)  
Dragonflies and damselflies = 9  (0)
Reptiles = 1  (0)
Amphibians = 1  (1)

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature


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