Ok, now the foundation has been laid I suppose it is time to start blogging.
With one thing or another my year list is not happening this year, I have dipped or not been able to go to easy common birds so I have scrapped this year and mainly concentrating on patch work. I have already visited Whitemoor Haye 71 times to date and my ain is 150 so slightly behind but with the autumn coming no problem. So far I have seen 102 species, not bad I suppose especially when 107 is my best and I managed to do that last year and I have still yet to add Bewick's and Whooper Swan to the year list but I have also dipped on Osprey and Little Gull already this year. Doh!!
On the break I have also been looking for and watching juvenile birds and along with the usual species I have been watching a pair of Treecreeper first of all nesting then bringing up some juveniles however I have not seen any of these birds since the beginning of June. Nearby there has also been a pair of Long-tailed Tits nesting but not sure whether any young were raised as since the end of April I have hardly seen them but once the breeding season is over I am hoping to see if I can find the nest as I have never seen one of their amazing nests yet.
Anybody visiting Whitemoor Haye will no doubt have noticed the massive structure next to the lakes, Whitemoor Lakes (funnily enough). Its an outdoor centre for inner city people and religious groups to name but a couple and I personally think it has had an effect on the bird life around the main pool. Yellow Wagtails and Little Ringed Plovers have definately been present but not in the numbers or the length of time that they usually have had. Also there has been a huge reduction in wildfowl numbers, just Canada and Greylag Geese and the odd Mallard to show for it. Last year we enjoyed a most of August with numbers of Greenshank sometimes reaching 8 birds, this year I am not expecting many. Access is still denied onto the quarry itself and I shudder to think what we are missing on the back pool. I know of only one birder who has access but I am pretty sure a few others get on there too. I have worked out a way though, pretend to be hunting Hare's, everytime I report to the farmer the presence of illegal hunting he says he will deal with them but never does but happy to confront a nasty man with bins and a tripod, ooooh what chaos that man will cause. Back to the lake and a couple of weeks ago I saw something that I thought was going to be the end of birding on the pool, a sailing boat turned up on a trailer, was unloaded and parked up until a couple of days later when a chap and two kids went sailing around, where thers one sailing boat more would come. I was expecting a load more followed by a cabin and then soon a sailing club, oh deep joy, however good news as the boat was gone a week later.
Right thats all the rubbish up to date, well ish. If you remember, this time of year is my busy period with the next few weekends booked up with various things however as from Sunday evening the Euro 2012 will have ended so weekday evenings will be back spent at Whitemoor Haye however I am sitting hear nursing suspected broken ribs so I am hoping these willnot effect me carrying my stuff around.
Till the first post proper, ta ra a bit.
Great to have you back.
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