What have you seen

Whilst sitting out last night we had a nightingale singing about 6 feet behind us lovely at the end of a very hot day. As to the blue tits we have none of our birdboxes occupied this year very unusual.

Accompanied along a canal today by a Kingfisher which stopped on a post some way ahead so we hopped off bikes and had a good long look at him. Whilst looking at him we heard a Bluethroat singing nearby and found him as well. To cap this temporary stop we then found a singing Marsh Warbler.

John, you do realise that the cleaning out of the birchbox is going to be your responsibility. Tough on the parents and chick.

Edit - Forgot to mention that we stopped at a small lake which had some waders in and we managed to see both Little Ringed Plovers and normal Ringed Plovers but most fascinating in its own way was to see the mating ritual of a Redshank. We didn't mean to be voyeurs but it just couldn't be avoided. Quite a revelation as we'd (fortunately) never seen it before!

Perhaps a slightly different "What Have You Seen" story, this one. Yesterday I was delighted but very, very surprised by what I saw.

We have a garden pond which, unfortunately is a magnet for herons especially during the winter when there is very little surface cover of plant leaves. Because of this I put a net over the majority of the pond to keep the last remaining three goldfish safe from Mr Heron. Back in February a heron kept returning early morning but I thought I had foiled him. However, one day there was no sign of the fish. They have somewhere at the bottom of the pond where they can hide and I assumed that is where they were. Days went past, weeks went past and months went past with no sign of them so yesterday I bought some red and white sarasa comets to re-stock the pond. Later in the day, watching from my bedroom window I could see some of the new fish but then I saw a goldfish, then another and a third! I was absolutely amazed. The three were still there after all . I'd cleared out weed growth and moved some plants but had not seen anything of the three, even though the water is very clear. It took the new fish to entice them out from their hidey hole where they must have been for weeks without any food rations other than natural food. What a massive surprise.

Nice story John.

We took the car and stopped at various points on the eastern side of the nearest big lake to us today. Once again we weren't disappointed, although the walk in the forest didn't produce any sightings we did later have a grand time at some reedbeds near the lake where we saw a White Tailed Eagle with a huge fish carting it off to the nest. These reedbeds also had breeding Bearded Tits which we were able to watch a pair bringing food back on several occasions to a nearby nest. The area also had the best sightings we have ever had of a pair of Bluethroats, which were patiently waiting for us to move on so they could access their nest.

A couple of Hobbies and 2 over-summering Bean Geese were new for us. The butterflies and dragonflies were out in number today to give us something to look at when there was nothing else around.

Another smashing day

Here is an update of my bird box pictures.

I’m afraid that like JohnM20 we have had some losses of chicks. One dead chick from the front garden box was removed by a parent but it was quite small with no feathers yet developed.

Sadly, in the rear garden box there is one dead chick that the parents have not managed to remove as it is larger and more developed. (You can see it in the foreground).

Unfortunately I think that this is a natural situation if all the eggs hatch out, the adults can’t manage such a large brood. It’s just that we would not usually be able to witness this happening. Very sad but also very privileged to witness the development of the chicks.     

Just lucky to get this photo of a Jay while in the Forest of Dean. 

A few more photos taken at Cannop ponds, Mandarin Ducks and a pair of signets with their parents.

There seem to be more and more Mandarin ducks through the country. We've seen them quite a few times in our travels.

I nearly got decapitated by a Sparrowhawk this evening when going for water. I did wonder what was causing distress calls from lots of the small birds around the yard.

I nearly got decapitated by a Sparrowhawk this evening when going for water. I did wonder what was causing distress calls from lots of the small birds around the yard.

Probably thought you were a very large looking chicken, then decided that maybe you were too large.🤣

A morning spent overlooking the Dollard peninsula right up in the North east corner of Netherlands. Sunny but exceptionally windy. There is a seal colony right on the doorstep so to speak who did their thing by lying down and looking bored,  with some lakes behind the polder that's separates the Wadden Sea from the land. It made for an interesting few hours as we could encompass a walks well. Quite a few Terns in an enclosed breeding area with some Arctic ones, a Yellow Legged Gull, some Bearded Tits and some very naughty Avocet chicks that decided to escape their parents and walk along the road. We had to chivvy them back towards safety. Good fodder for any passing Herring Gull or Marsh harrier. Hope they made it.

A good day for us too today. Saw a GSW in the woods by Centre Parks, then at Acorn Bank a female Pheasant with 3 chicks in the orchard, a Blackcap and heard lots of other warblers down by the river, 3 Great Crested Newts in the pond in the formal garden, and 2 Red Squirrels crossing the road up beyond Cliburn Station.