April 2020

Orange tip butterfly

Please look at the Friends' Website and the facebook page for updates about access and social distancing. 

To discourage gatherings of birders, sightings, especially of rarities, are being suppressed by all the usual sources of information like BirdLine and the local bird clubs. All the same there's always something of interest on the Cambridge Bird Club site. Meanwhile, you might enjoy joining the Self Isolating Bird Club on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sibirdclub  It's one of Chris Packham's best ideas. He's been self isolating with his step daughter at his home in the New Forest. Together they have been making daily videos that are refreshingly un-polished and entertaining. See https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/wildmorningswithchris

As you can imagine, it has been a strange start to April. We should have had our first breeding bird survey to monitor all of our resident birds before the migrants arrived but that and future surveys has been cancelled for the duration. Another reason for my lack of data is that the visitor centre is closed so there is nothing in the log book. My own social isolation hasn't helped: I live in Brampton so most of my sightings have been there.

Male starling

Brimstones

April 9th: Several days of warm weather coupled by South-easterly winds made it impossible for me to stay away and I popped in today for a catch up.

Peacock butterfly on blackthorn.

My walk produced singing nightingales x 2 (though a visitor reported 5 this morning). A cuckoo was heard by Ann Thomas and another one was seen, but not by me. I heard willow warbler, chiffchaff, blackcap, linnet, reed bunting, goldfinch, Cetti's warbler, dunnock, robin, long tailed tit, blue tit, great tit, blackbird, wren, starling and a host more, and I saw buzzard x 2, kite, kestrel x 2, crow, rook, wood pigeon, collared dove, jackdaw, jay and magpie.

Toads were croaking in several places and a few butterflies were about: comma, small tortoiseshell, peacock, brimstone and orange-tip. (I saw holly blue at home too.)

Chiffchaff on an ash tree.

Nightingales at Paxton Pits, recorded on Easter week-end 2020. https://youtu.be/zD5Q64t1XAw
It looks like a far better year this year for nightingales.

April 25th: A Visitor who just calls himself John sent us this report..... (Ref 24th) "Wanted to record a sighting of a snake swimming in the Ouse – assume a grass snake – in the stretch below the railway bridge and beside the cattle grazing field. Have never seen a grass snake before in 64 years, so this goes down as ‘exciting’! And on my last visit, I saw a family of otters moving up the river.

Keep up the good work, really sorry to hear about the Kingfisher hide being destroyed last night."

March 2020

CORON
February ended with the third big Atlantic storm of the month, bringing more high winds, but not as much rain as forecast. The river was at the top of it's banks at this point and all the lakes were pretty much full, which isn't good for wading birds.

Despite the storms the early spring progressed with blossom in the hedges and hawthorn leaves beginning to appear. Great-crested newts were already active at the end of February so it is worth looking for frogs and toads on the move any day now. Chiffchaffs were heard singing at Stirtloe but these are probably wintering birds that will move on before the summer migrants arrive this month.

Singing chiffchaff.

March 1st: Great crested grebes, pochard, sparrowhawk, heron, cormorant, coot, shoveler, blue tit, mute swan. Big murmuration of starlings over the village at 18:00. (Mike Thomas)

Mute swan on Hayling Pit.

March 2nd: An evening walk around the Meadow Trail resulted in not seeing a single starling but we finished just after six. However, we found a roost of 12+ greenfinches with more arriving. Goldfinches, kingfisher, stock doves, song thrushes singing, long tailed tits, grey heron, mallard, gadwall, tufted duck, greylags, moorhens, coots and a Cetti's warbler. Jackdaw roost still very active but no rooks seen.

Goldcrest sunning itself.

Siberian chiffchaff. (Compare with the European one above,)

March 6th: Stirtloe concrete road + North end of Pumphouse Pit: European chiffchaff (singing), Siberian chiffchaff, redwings, bullfinches, chaffinch, reed bunting, meadow pipit, wren, l-t tit, blue tit, great tit, robin, pied wagtail, grey wagtail, common gull, b-h gull, dunnock, goldfinch, greenfinch, goldcrest, blackbird, goldeneye, greylags, Canada geese, mute swans, moorhen, coot, wigeon, tufted duck, pochard, mallard, gadwall, rook, carrion crow, jackdaw, magpie, buzzard, kestrel, red kite, starling, stock dove, collared dove, woodpigeon. (c 43 spp) Jim Stevenson.

Buzzards displaying.

March 17th. Now that the Visitor Centre is closed there are no sightings in the log. However Mark Brandon sent me this:
"2 male blackcaps were singing well at the southern end of Hayling, and are probably newly arrived as I didn't see any over the winter period. Chiffchaffs were calling from numerous spots around the reserve, while four buzzards and three red kites circled over the meadow and Heronry South. The lakes were all very quiet."

March 26th: The welcome and increasing rare sound locally of a female tawny owl calling at 01:59 last 'night'...on the green towards the river outside our house. Of course, I couldn't see it! (Mark Brandon.)

NB. THE VISITOR CENTRE AND THE HIDES ARE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
THIRD THURSDAY WALKS AND ALL EVENTS ARE CANCELLED. PLEASE KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM OTHER VISITORS.

March 27th: A  single sand martin flew over us towards Haylng and onwards on 27th, and a little egret flew over the trees alongside the river for a 'garden' year tick on the same day. (Mark Brandon).

February 2020

February 1st: The mild weather continues. Spring weather has the song thrushes, robins and great tits singing and I even heard a chiffchaff at Stirtloe. Bumble bees were busy and the first pussy willow was bursting from it's buds at the sailing lake. If we don't get a shock in the next month, this will be a great year for the survival of small birds like goldcrests, long-tailed tits and wrens that are all plentiful right now. The arable fields are attracting flocks of  reed buntings, yellow hammers and linnets and a stone-chat was still around at the end of January, so give the fields a good once over. You may see muntjac there too, especially at dusk. Don't forget to check out http://cbcwhatsabout.blogspot.com/ to see what's about locally. Have you seen a butterfly yet? Frogspawn? They could turn up any day soon.

That long first paragraph proved to be a bit premature and by mid month we were out repairing roofs, fences and screens as well as removing fallen trees and branches due to successive Atlantic storms. We got off lightly compared to the west of Britain.

Female reed bunting.

February 12th: Drake goosander x 2 on Heronry North Lake. Blue tit.

February 13th: Song thrush on the meadow trail, 

Gadwall x 62, mallard x 26, wigeon x 170, shoveller x 3, pochard x 44, tufted duck x 190, teal x 8, shelduck, goldeneye x 19, cormorant x 49, b-h gull x 142, greylag goose x 5, common gull x 4, water rail, mute swan x 12, coot x 41, green sandpiper, lapwing x 3 (+220 overhead), sparrowhawk, kestrel x 3, buzzard x 2, heron, collared dove, goldfinch, magpie, dunnock, g-c grebe x 10, moorhen, bullfinch, woodpigeon, great tit, wren, robin, herring gull, stock dove, jackdaw, l-t tit, song thrush, blackbird, chaffinch, crow, green woodpecker, yellowhammer x 14, reed bunting x 7, l-b-b gull, meadow pipit, blue tit, skylark, house sparrow, g-s woodpecker. 52 species (Terry Brown)

February 15th: Blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit.

February 16th: Robin sparrow, blue tit, great tit, wren.

February 17th: Robin, sparrow, blue tit and wren at the bird table.

G-c grebe x 8, mute swan x 19, mallard x 22, gadwall x 79, wigeon x 78, goldeneye x 23, pochard x 72, tufted duck x 172, Canada goose x 12, lapwing, oystercatcher, common gull, cormorant x 45, little grebe, b-h gull x 52, coot x 35, shoveller x 2, jackdaw, blue tit, l-t tit, crow. moorhen great tit, woodpigeon, dunnock, goldfinch, stock dove, song thrush, magpie, redwing x 11, green woodpecker, pheasant, blackbird, skylark x 4, reed bunting x 5, yellowhammer x 10, linnet x 8, wren, kestrel.
(42 spp. Terry Brown)

Blue tit.

February 18th: Sailing Lake: Tufted duck, Canada goose, lapwing, swan, wigeon, b-h gull, g-c grenbe, moorhen, crow, jackdaw, woodpigeon, blue tit, great tit song thrush, magpie, buzzard, blackbird, cormorant. (18)
Weedy Pit: Coot, cormorant, tufted duck, long-tailed tit, mallard, wigeon. (6)
Heronry South: Wigeon, gadwall, moorhen, tufted duck, stock dove, red kite, robin, dunnock, rook, oystercatcher, heron. (7) M+AT

February 20th: Magpie, grey squirrel, blue tit x 2. (Sean) Blue tit, goldcrest. (Brooke) Rat x 2 (Beau)
Third Thursday Walk:   Blackbird, b-h gull, blue tit, crow, chaffinch, cormorant, dunnock, gadwall, g-c grebe, g-s woodpecker, great tit, greenfinch, heron, greylag, jackdaw, lapwing, magpie, mallard, moorhen, mute swan, oystercatcher, redwing, robin, song thrush, tufted duck, wigeon, wood pigeon, Canada goose. (28 spp.) David Wilson.

Goldfinch

February 23rd: Sparrowhawk, mute swan, coot, moorhen, tufted duck, cormorant, heron, mallard, blue tit, l-t tit, goldfinch, crow, goldeneye, robin, song thrush, magpie.

February 25th: Kingfisher by the Kingfisher Hide! At least 3 pairs of herons on nests (Alan Coles)

Mute swan x 22, mallard x 27, gadwall x 48, cormorant x 55, wigeon x 108, coot x 57, g-c grebe x 9, b-h gull x 200, Canada goose x 6, lapwing, greylag x 3, shoveller x 10, pochard x 26, common gull x 2, heron x 3, green sandpiper, goldeneye x 16, tufted duck x 150, g-s woodpecker, sparrowhawk, redwing x 5, blue tit, pheasant.

February 26th: Green sandpiper on Island Pit. (A+HT)

February 29th: Rat, red kite, crow, magpie, robin, great tit x 3, wren.
Goosander on Heronry North (Simon Marsh) 

Goldcrest.

JANUARY 2020

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We kicked off on January 1st with our usual "Ice-Breaker" walk with 42 guests but only 37 species by lunchtime. Meanwhile Neal Parkin and the regular bird counters were in the quarry (with permission).

I noted 72 species seen today (not all seen by me) all at the north end apart from raven. Missing species you would expect to see include little grebe, sparrowhawk, red kite, red-legged partridge, feral pigeon, treecreeper.

Species	Code	From	Until	Location	No	Comments
Great Crested Grebe	gg	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Cormorant	ca	01/01/20		North end	50	+
Little Egret	et	01/01/20		North end	2
Great Egret	hw	01/01/20		PHP	1
Grey Heron	h	01/01/20		North end	3
Mute Swan	ms	01/01/20		North end	100	+
Greylag Goose	gj	01/01/20		North end	50	+
Canada Goose	cg	01/01/20		North end	30	+
Barnacle Goose	by	01/01/20		Field north of Diddington	10
Mallard	ma	01/01/20		North end	20	+
Gadwall	ga	01/01/20		North end	100	+
Wigeon	wn	01/01/20		North end	100	+
Teal	t	01/01/20		North end	100	+
Pintail	pt	01/01/20		PHP	9
Shoveler	sv	01/01/20		PHP	66
Tufted Duck	tu	01/01/20		North end	100	+
Pochard	po	01/01/20		WPHP	200	~
Goldeneye	gn	01/01/20		North end	60	20+ PHP, 40+ IP
Smew	sy	01/01/20		PHP	3	male + 2 redheads
Buzzard	bz	01/01/20		North end	2
Kestrel	k	01/01/20		North end	4
Pheasant	ph	01/01/20		North end	3
Moorhen	mh	01/01/20		North end	4
Coot	co	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Lapwing	l	01/01/20		North end	50	+
Black-headed Gull	bh	01/01/20		North end	100	+
Herring Gull	hg	01/01/20		North end	2
Lesser Black-backed Gull	lb	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Common Gull	cm	01/01/20		North end	50	+
Great Black-backed Gull	gb	01/01/20		North end	3
Stock Dove	sd	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Woodpigeon	wp	01/01/20		North end	50	+
Collared Dove	cd	01/01/20		Diddington	2
Barn Owl	bo	01/01/20		Broughton Lodge	1
Kingfisher	kf	01/01/20		PHP	1
Green Woodpecker	g	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Great Spotted Woodpecker	gs	01/01/20		North end	5	+
Skylark	s	01/01/20		North end	1
Meadow Pipit	mp	01/01/20		North end	3
Grey Wagtail	gl	01/01/20		Stirtloe sewage works	1
Pied Wagtail	pw	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Dunnock	d	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Robin	r	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Stonechat	sc	01/01/20		NW of DP	2	a pair
Wren	wr	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Blackbird	b	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Fieldfare	ff	01/01/20		North end	5	+
Song Thrush	st	01/01/20		North end	5	+
Redwing	re	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Mistle Thrush	m	01/01/20		Thornton Estate	1
Chiffchaff	cc	01/01/20		Stirtloe sewage works	1
Goldcrest	gc	01/01/20		North end	1
Long-tailed Tit	lt	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Coal Tit	ct	01/01/20		Thornton Estate	1
Blue Tit	bt	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Great Tit	gt	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Jay	j	01/01/20		North end	1
Magpie	mg	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Rook	ro	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Carrion Crow	c	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Jackdaw	jd	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Raven	rn	01/01/20		South end	1
Song Thrush	st	01/01/20		North end	10	+
House Sparrow	hs	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Chaffinch	ch	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Greenfinch	gr	01/01/20		North end	2
Goldfinch	go	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Linnet	li	01/01/20		North end	2
Bullfinch	bf	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Reed Bunting	rb	01/01/20		North end	10	+
Yellowhammer	y	01/01/20		North end	50	+
Scaup	sp	01/01/20		PHP	1	female

Meadow pipit

January 2nd: (VC) Squirrel, blackbird, blue tit, dunnock, great tit, sparrow. Rats. Flock of long-tailed tits.

Chiffchaff.

Gadwall x 95, mallard x 23, goldeneye x 31, pochard x 2, wigeon x 210, tufted duck x 315, shoveler x 4, teal x 5, mute swan x 6, great-crested grebe x 6, common gull x 42, rook, goldcrest, l-b-b gull, kestrel, buzzard x 2, red kite x 2, green sandpiper, moorhen, coot x 36, reed bunting x 6, wren, bullfinch x 4, redwing x 14, l-t tit, heron, green woodpecker, dunnock, woodpigeon, jackdaw, robin, blackbird, magpie, goldfinch, great tit, blue tit. (38 spp. Terry Brown.)

Elusive but noisy: Cetti's warbler.

January 6th: Mallard x 38, tufted duck x 440, wigeon x 317, shoveler x 3, gadwall x 126, teal x 4, great white egret, little egret, woodpigeon, mute swan x 90, blackbird, cormorant x 20, great tit, blue tit, crow, robin, jackdaw, moorhen greylag goose x 64, g-s woodpecker, green woodpecker, coot x 31, b-h gull x 248, redwing x 6, magpie, sparrowhawk, l-t tit, bullfinch, linnet, yellowhammer x 12, reed bunting, g-c grebe x10, fieldfare x 2, dunnock, goldeneye x 36, common gull x 15, heron, chaffinch. (38 spp, Terry Brown)

Long-tailed tit.

January 7th: (Stirtloe Sewage works, just north of Paxton Pits). Chiff chaff x 3 or 4, goldcrest x 2, wren x 2, Cetti's warbler. Red -head smew from pumphouse road. (JAS)

January 10th: (Stirtloe sewage works) Siberian chiffchaff, long tailed tits, meadow pipits, 30 + pied wagtails, starlings singing, wren, dunnock, robin, b-h gulls, chiffchaffs, reed buntings, goldcrests.

Siberian chiffchaff.

January 12th: Collared dove, robin, dunnock, great tit, lesser redpoll, wren, goldeneye, scaup?
Otter from the Kingfisher Hide near tern rafts.

January 16th: Third Thursday Walk: (D Wilson)
Blackbird, b-h gull, blue tit, buzzard, carrion crow, chaffinch, coot, cormorant, yellowhammer, dunnock, gadwall, g-s woodpecker, great tit, green woodpecker, grey heron, jackdaw, lapwing, red kite, l-t tit, magpie, mallard, mute swan, redwing, robin, sparrow hawk, stock dove, tufted duck, wood pigeon,  Canada goose, goldeneye. (30 spp.)

January 18th: The Wildlife Survey Group report for today.
Sailing Lake--- Moorhen, lapwing, mute swan, mallard, tufted duck, magpie, great tit, robin, g-s woodpecker, b-h gull, song thrush, blue tit, grey wagtail, gadwall, greylag, l-t tit, jackdaw, wood pigeon, cormorant, carrion crow, redwing, goldfinch, blackbird.

Haul Road arable fields--- Green woodpecker, stonechat, meadow pipit, yellowhammer, linnet, skylark, reed bunting, chaffinch, wren.

Stonechat.

Heronry North Lake---- Goosander, goldeneye, green sandpiper.

Washout Pit--- Water rail.

Island Pit--- G-c grebe, grey heron, Canada goose, wigeon, buzzard, common gull, coot, kestrel, teal, jay.

Linnets

January 20th: Mute swan x 39, cormorant x 37, shoveler x 8, mallard x 52, wigeon x 213, goldeneye x 33, teal x 10, pochard x 44, tufted duck x 258, gadwall x 144, moorhen x 17, g-c grebe x 14, common gull, magpie, blackbird, dunnock, woodpigeon, crow, heron x 7, great tit, blue tit, robin, green woodpecker, bullfinch, b-h gull x 115, coot x 37, chaffinch, snog thrush, buzzard x 2, collared dove, goldfinch, greenfinch, jackdaw, wren, skylark x 3, linnet x 17, reed bunting x 8, stonechat, sparrowhawk, yellowhammer x 2, lesser b-b gull, lapwing, pheasant, l-t tit. (44 spp. Terry Brown)

Lapwing.

Arable fields 1 and 2--- A mixture of linnets (60+), yellowhammers (20+), reed buntings (20+) and chaffinches on the stubbles. Muntjac x 4. Long-tailed tits in the hedgerows. (JAS)

January 22nd: Barn owl at 22:30 on a fencepost between the Hail Weston Road and the A1 on the slip road going north.


January 28th: Pair of Egyptian geese on the sailing lake plus goldeneye, cormorant, green woodpecker, song thrush, great tit, mute swans, wren, blackbird, l-t tit.

Goldcrest.

January 29th: Mute swan x 56, gadwall x 97, mallard x 29, g-c grebe x 11, wigeon x 385, pochard x 32, shoveler x 10, coot x 32, cormorant x 41, heron x 7, b-h gull x 240, common gull x 7, magpie, wood pigeon, goldfinch, wren, treecreeper, green woodpecker, great tit, robin, moorhen, dunnock, sparrowhawk, chaffinch, jackdaw, lapwing, stock dove, blackbird, Candad geese, kestrel, yellowhammer x 10, reed bunting x 6, linnet x 30, herring gull, skylark x 5, song thrush, goldfinch, g-s woodpecker, goldcrest, l-t tit, collared dove, blue tit, house sparrow. 45 spp. Terry Brown.

Wren.