Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Aerial acrobats

It has been cool, overcast again, with occasional showers at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve.

The trails remain dry with some wet muddy areas.

Hobbies are hunting over the Heronary Lakes performing some spectacular aerial acrobatics...

Heron Trail:
6 (singing nightingales), 6 garden warblers, 2 goldcrest, 3 red crested pochard, 1 cuckoo, 2 hobby, house  martin and swallows over Heronary North & South (sand martins numbers are low today), lesser whitethroat (in brambles at start of trail), whitethroats (at least 8 along trail this morning)

Meadow Trail:
2 bullfinch, 1 cetti's singing, (dozens of) swift, 1 (singing nightingale), lesser whitethroat (in meadow scrub), whitethroat (in meadow), blackcap, garden warbler, kingfisher (pair by riverside), 2 common buzzard, swifts hunting over meadows

Sailing Lake:
20 (sitting) common tern, 4 oystercatcher (pair with 2 juvs), greylag goose (with 3 goslings), 4 lesser black back gull

Ouse Valley Way: (first 0.5km N off reserve)
2 turtle doves, 3 sedge warblers, 1 reed warbler, 11 whitethroat, 3 lesser whitehroat, 2 blackcap, kingfisher1, 1 bullfinch (calling), 5 reed bunting

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
1 red kite flying over A1 N (good views on Diddington Public footpath)

OUSE VALLEY WAY NORTH (STIRTLOE FOOTPATH)
1 turnstone, 1 dunlin, 1 whimbrel, 1 little ringed plover, 1 ringed plover 

It is well worth walking the public footpaths around the reserve (maps can be obtained from the Visitor Centre). From Stirtloe Lane (off Ouse Valley Way) you can watch the latter stages of tern and wader passage.

Please call us with any sightings on tel: 01480 406 795 or pop into the centre and write them into our sightings book.






















This summer plumage Turnstone showed very well at times today.

 

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