Date: 27th March 2024
Time: from 8:25 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy, light wind, 9°C to 11°C
Spring has definitely arrived now and I had a very productive visit with a full walk around the site including the northern section, the cemetery and the wooded area in the south of the site on my way home.
During my visit, I recorded 23 bird species, the highest total of the year to date. This included 7 species added to my 2024 bird site list.
As I approached Larkins Tyres to enter the site via the access track there, I immediately heard my first singing male Chiffchaff and throughout my visit I could hear this species.
The highlights from my visit were as follows:
I recorded my first Blackcap of the year, starting with 3 singing but unseen males, the first in the wooded area adjacent to the Larkins Tyres access track and the others in the northern section of the site. I then eventually saw a male Blackcap quietly foraging in bushes in the northern section of the site. I then saw another singing male in bushes adjacent to the track as it continues from the wooded area at the end of the track from Larkins Tyres towards Pound Lane.
Last year, my first record of Blackcap was on 2nd April 2023 and in 2022 my first record was on 24th March 2022.
I also added the following 6 species to my 2024 bird site list: Common Buzzard (a single bird initially heard “mewing” but then seen being pursued by a Herring Gull as it flew in a southerly direction over the cemetery), Sparrowhawk (a male and female briefly seen soaring together over the northern section of the site), Moorhen (a single bird landed in the main pond in the northern section of the site but its presumed mate pulled out of landing and disappeared), Stock Dove (1 heard calling in the northern section of the site and then eventually located perched on a tree .... first record since 2022), Pied Wagtail (1 flew over the northern section of the site), Starling (a small group of 3 birds flew over the northern section of the site).
Other highlights from my visit included the following: Chiffchaff (2 singing males seen and 3 other singing males heard), Mallard (male seen briefly on the main pond in the northern section of the site before it flew off), Green Woodpecker (a calling bird in the wooded area at the end of the Larkins Tyres track and another in the northern section of the site), Great Spotted Woodpecker (a calling bird in the wooded area at the end of the Larkins Tyres track and another in the south west corner of the site near St. Nicholas Lane).
With regard to mammals, I saw 2 Red Foxes in the northern section of the site. Sadly, the first Red Fox was clearly suffering from sarcoptic mange given the almost complete absence of fur on its tail and much of its rear legs plus the condition of its eyes. This is the first time that I have seen sarcoptic mange in my local Red Foxes. Fortunately, the second Red Fox looked much healthier.
Finally, I saw my first Bee-fly of the spring and the Horse Chestnut trees in the cemetery are starting to show bud burst.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Chiffchaff
Site totals for 2024 to date (2023 totals in brackets):
Birds = 32 (47)
Total species list for the site:
Birds = 65
