New bike = More birds!!!

Picked up a new bike last monday, and have been out on it nearly every day since. Its great as i need not spend money getting to all my patches now on the bus and can also travel a little further afield.



Wildflower meadow at Branshill Moor

For example on tuesday i biked down to Clifton, but managed to explore other areas of the patch, such as the farmland to the south of the village. This was rewarded by my first ever UK sightings of Corn Buntings, which are very rare in nottinghamshire and barton lane is one of the best areas to see these birds. It was lovely to hear them again after last hearing them in southern spain in 2009. I also saw my first Grey Partridges of 2010, flushing around 10 of them from the corn in one of the fields.

Comma Butterfly at Clifton Woods

I also spent a little bit of time in my usual patch at clifton, seeing several Buzzards, the Red Tailed Hawk over Branshill Wood, and Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings at holme pit, along with the family of Swans which were still going strong.

On wednesday i biked down the beeston canal to Attenborough, after hearing reports of a Little Egret that had taken up residence there. I didn't see the bird until i was leaving, as it was feeding in the reeds on Clifton Pond, but i got good views of this rare visitor to notts. I also saw a Black-tailed Godwit in the same area, and got some cracking views of it, the first i've seen since last october when a bird was resident in the wet marsh at the same reserve. Also saw a couple of Oystercatchers over beeston lock.

Thursday i biked to holme pierrepont, just for the ride really, but did manage to get a few shots of the Greylags which were feeding with their young there. There were also plenty of Swallows, Blackcaps and Common Terns about, and i briefly saw a Buzzard too.

And heres a Wasp drinking from my parents bird bath, presumably to help make a nest

Arnot hill park

Had a quick visit to arnot hill park the other day, while having a bit of a day out with me mate. The pond was busy with waterfowl, and i saw a few dowdy-looking Red Crested Pochards, lots of coots and moorhens, lots of tufted duck with little cute ducklings, and a surprise sighting of an eclipse-plumaged Shoveler.

Juvenile Coot

Eclipse-plumage Shoveler Male

Tufted Duck(ling)

New Camera!

I've just finished uni with a 2.2 in Wildlife Conservation, and my lovely parents have given me a new camera!! Its a Canon 40d, heaps better than my old one, which has served me well indeed. I took it out for a spin in the farmland around their house, where i saw Yellowhammers, Whitethroats and Linnets, among other things. Here's a few photos i managed to get.

Common tern, Attenborough

I shared with two policemen cracking views of a Common Tern fishing only metres away from the bridge we were on when i was at Attenborough on the 25th of June. I didn't really get the photo i was aiming for, but it was good practice nonetheless, not to mention a great sight. The policemen enjoyed it too!

June Photos

Grey Heron, Attenborough

Collared Dove, Rainham Marshes

Juvenile Pied Wagtail, Rainham Marshes

Marsh Frog, Rainham Marshes

Herring Gull, Camden Lock

Juvenile Blue Tit, Colwick Park

Chaffinch, Colwick Park

Juvenile Robin, Colwick Park

Moorhen Juveniles, Colwick Park

Great Crested Grebe, Colwick Park

Stock Dove, Attenborough

Woodpigeon in my garden

Swan and cygnets, Holme Pit

JUNE update

So i've lost a lot of notes, not been very organised and now i wish i had been, as i can't properly see what i've observed over june. Oh well, i'll just have to be more vigilant in july!

The ticklist hasn't really increased ever so much, but this is to be expected at this time of year, however it has increased by 5 species, some of which i was very happy to see.

• Linnet - i've seen a few of these now, always paired up in farmland habitat! Typical! Nice too as its the first time i've seen them in the UK
• Red-legged partridge - seen at clifton on the weir field and down south near bristol. UK firsts too
• Little egret - Loads of these white herons at RSPB rainham marshes in essex - very happy to see these, another UK first, but special to me as i've wanted to see one for ages
• Ring necked parakeet - A lifer for me, quite odd to see these in britain, but they seem very happy and established in the trees at hampstead heath, where i saw them
• Red Tailed Hawk - this vagrant bird has been at clifton for ages but has always eluded me, i have finally seen it now, but it was while i was at attenborough nature reserve where i scoped it from the tower hide.

So now the list stands at 113 species! not too bad, although 9 are vagrants/escapees.

Can't quite remember much about what else i saw this month, but i went to clifton and attenborough a few times, as well as colwick park. I've gone out on a lot of 'non-birding' walks this month, hence all the invertebrate photos, but i've been out looking at flowers too. i also had a good couple of days birding in london and rainham marshes.

Most of the trips out have been dominated by sightings of juvenile birds, especially swans geese and ducks, but i have also seen plenty of other birds. here's some highlights

• Kingfisher at colwick park
• 4 kingfishers, lots of common tern, 49 lapwing and over 100 sand martins at attenborough
• Lots of warblers, great spotted woodpecker, red legged partridge and lots of lapwings and reed buntings at clifton
• Reed buntings, herons and egrets at rainham marshes (as well as marsh frogs and lizards!)
• Yellowhammers, Linnets, House Martins, Swallows, a Skylark and a Buzzard on the farmland near my parents house

I also compiled a list of birds that i saw in the london city area (including hampstead heath) and it numbered around 40 species, a nice list for the capital - highlights included:

• House sparrows (due to their decline in the city)
• Whitethroat
• Pied wagtail
• Parakeets
• Swifts
• Great spotted woodpecker

I'll post some pics in the next post.... probably tomorrow now!!! This blogging business is harder than i thought!

A creepy crawly update

Haven't updated in ages (again!), as i've been rather busy, but have also managed to get out and take plenty of photos. i'll do a june birds update soon (if i can find all my field notes), but in the meantime i'll just share some of the invertebrate life that i've encountered over the past month.

Garden Chafer - there were hundreds of these at Kings Meadow, Notts, getting frisky and foamy!

Burnet Moth Caterpillar

Scorpion Fly

Peacock Caterpillar

Carpet Moth sp.

Wasp Beetle

Red-headed Cardinal Beetle

Wolf Spider sp. with egg sac

Greenbottle Fly

Some sort of 'tephritid' fly

Common Blue Butterfly on Southern Marsh Orchid

Honeybee

An 'empidid' fly

Mating Damselflies

Hoverfly sp.