bank vole

This little fella’s been hanging around the feeding station for weeks now but always a little quick for me. Today though, with inhibitions left in the burrow, he treated us to a stunning performance just a few feet away. Although one of our commenest rodents, Bank Voles are still very difficult to get decent views of as their predators are many and it doesn’t pay to attract too much attention.

In Menagerie Wood a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers are busy feeding young in their tree-top nest hole. The chicks are just a few days from fledging and are making a real racket everytime the adults appear. As well as me the noise also attracts unwanted attention from neighbouring Jackdaws and Kestrels – the male is seen here telling them to shut up basically!  

Something rather nasty has happened to this young Grey Heron though importantly the flight feathers are still in full working order. It might just be a fishing accident of course but a more miserable looking bird I’ve never seen!

  

grebes on the brink

Just days to go now before the happy event and both adult Great Crested Grebes are in continuous close attendance. The four eggs have been incubated through fair weather and foul for over three weeks in a nest placed at last year’s partially successful site.

 It is noticable with grebes of several species that placement of the nest is important to maximize the benefits gained by close proximity to other territorial birds. Black-necks for example will nest within a Black-headed Gull colony for the protection it affords them and I can’t help thinking that this pair of Great Crests have deliberately chosen to be as near to the local Mute Swan pair as possible.   

Butterfly numbers are on the increase and numerous Green-veined Whites, Small Tortoiseshells and my favourite  Orange Tips were surprisingly approachable. In Menagerie Wood the Garden Warblers are finally back on territory, some two weeks behind schedule.  Most Grey Heron chicks are wing-exercising now and will be ready for their maiden flights any day. So whilst many small passerines are just starting their cycle, these tree-top giants are nearing the end of their’s for another year with  summer barely started.   

 

Two Tawny Owl chicks were calling vociferously from very near the path through Bridge Royd Wood this  morning but whilst photos would have been possible of the grounded owlets, my self-preservation gene told me to keep walking. Stories of curious folk losing eyes whilst trying to help ’stranded’ Tawny chicks are well documented. The parent birds are always watching and will viciously attack anything regardless of size that gets within a yard or two of their offspring.

first day of spring

It’s been a little while since my last visit and consequently the changes at Bretton are quite apparent. The heronries for example, deserted and desolate a mere three weeks ago, are now throng with birds. Egg laying has already begun in the untidy tree-top shacks, and whilst the females sit tight, their partners are kept busy collecting yet more nesting material - albeit superfluous to the structure. The reason, according to studies, is that the bigger and more numerous the sticks brought in, the more receptive the females become to the males’ amorous advances –  i.e. the better the pressy, the more sex you get!

At the top of Pikeley Hill and right on cue, the first Chiffchaffs have returned from their African jaunt and are marking out territories with repetitive  song. These are the first migrants to arrive for the new breeding season and are at their easiest to see right now before the leaves appear. It’s always difficult to get pictures for the first couple of weeks though as the birds spend a lot of time in the tree tops, but it’s customary for me to snap the first I see each year so here it is. Better images will appear soon!

At the feeding station near the hide, trade is brisk as birds are coming into peak condition. Maintaining strength is key if they are to attract mates, and topping up body weight now is important - especially for those that will be spending a good deal of the Spring  cramped in a tree hole like this female Great Spotted Woodpecker. She was certainly piling on the calories this morning, consuming peanuts faster than I could deal them. Her problem might be squeezing in there when the time comes! 

 

From the top: Grey Heron, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker & Nuthatch