Date: 3rd October 2023
Time: from 9:10 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 11°C to 15°C
Having seen a Red Fox at the pond in the northern section of the site during my last visit on 30th September 2023, I decided to visit the location again this morning in the hope of getting some photos.
However, as I approached the pond, I flushed a Jack Snipe which rapidly flew off and disappeared from view. This totally unexpected and remarkable sighting was unsurprisingly a first record for the site taking my total to 64 species. It was also my first UK record for 2023 of this not uncommon but elusive species taking my total to 194 species.
This small pond in the northern section of the site has now produced 4 excellent records: Jack Snipe, Grey Heron, Moorhen and Mallard.
My record of a male Pied Flycatcher on 13th April 2021 (see here) now has a serious rival in Jack Snipe as the best sighting at my St. Nicholas Church local patch site.
Having absorbed this excellent sighting, I baited the edge of the pond with dog food and dog biscuits and then sat down on my Walkstool under my bag hide to watch and wait for the appearance of a Red Fox. This proved to be a complete non-event and after 1.5 hours I gave up.
Whilst disappointed, my sit, watch and wait vigil did provide some interesting records of birds. This included 2 species that I rarely see at the site: a single calling Pied Wagtail flying over in a northerly direction and a calling Pheasant somewhere behind me in the extensive overgrown grass area. This record of Pheasant was my first for 2023 at the site and the first since 2021.
In addition, as on my last visit on 30th September 2023, I saw 1 or possibly 2 Chiffchaffs foraging in the bushes surrounding the pond and heard another regularly singing from various locations in the near vicinity. I also heard a distantly calling Great Spotted Woodpecker.
With regard to mammals, I saw a single Grey Squirrel as I returned home via the access track to Larkins Tyres.
The American Aster bushes around the pond again attracted a few remaining butterflies: Red Admiral (1) and Small White (1)
Again, I failed to see any dragonflies or damselflies at the pond during my visit.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Site totals for 2023 to date (2022 totals in brackets):
Total species list for the site:
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