grebe family

After pulling their disappearing act for a couple of weeks it’s good to see the Great Crested Grebe family are still in one piece. All four youngsters are doing well but will continue to make demands on their parents for a good while yet even though their submarine skills are developing fast.

Not much else to report except that two heron nests are still occupied and a Common Tern continues to visit the lakes. The regular male Great Spotted Woodpecker at the feeding station was prowling around for a free lunch again this morning and certainly earned his nuts with some beautiful poses.

  

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!

  

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

feeding frenzy

A bitterly cold night should have meant plenty of action around the feeders this morning, but stocks had run dry and it was just lucky I had a bag of mixed seed in my bag.

Within minutes it was mayhem. Three Grey Squirrels took the lion’s share but a visiting Great Spotted Woodpecker got a look in, and stayed just long enough for me to grab a pic or two.

Too quick for the camera though was a Sparrowhawk strike that nearly reduced the Jackdaw population by one. Unfortunatley for the large female sprawk, every corvid in the park came to the rescue and the lucky victim narrowly escaped during the scrum.

Todays Roll call: Great Crested Grebe (1), Grey Heron (6), Mute Swan (1), Canada Goose (20+), Teal (7), Mallard (23), Pochard (3), Tufted Duck (13), Goosander (5), Pheasant (1), Coot (10+), Lapwing (3), Blackheaded Gull (100+), Sparrowhawk (1), Wood Pigeon (130+), Stock Dove (3), Kingfisher (2), Green Woodpecker (1), Great Spotted Woodpecker (5), Wren (2), Dunnock (1), Robin (2), Blackbird (20+), Mistle Thrush (1), Song Thrush (1), Redwing (1),  Coal Tit (2), Blue Tit (4), Great Tit (6), Nuthatch (3), Jay (3), Jackdaw (100+), Rook ( 75+), Carrion Crow (5), Chaffinch (2)