All quiet on the Western Front

The first chance I've had to visit the patch in over a week and I was a tad disappointed in how quiet it was.
The theme of the day was Warblers - or the lack of them. Not a Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler to be seen. what's going on?
However the lack of warbling was made up for by a flurry of activity from a group of some 15 Lesser Blackbacked Gulls, mostly first or second year birds, judging by the plummage.
A group of around 8 male Mallards were loafing around together near the reed beds. They reminded me of a bunch of bored teenagers.
Three Swallows passed over and then I was treated to a magnificent ariel display by a pair of House Martins. That was worth the trip alone. Now, you may think House Martins are nothing to get excited about. But these were not just House Martins. These were No.58 on the patch list. Huzzah!
The only other notable sightings today were a couple of soaring Buzzards and a Stock Dove nesting in one of the Barn Owl boxes.
Let's have a photo (note lack of birds):

The song remains the same

There's a certain familiarity beginning to creep in now.
I can pretty much predict the regulars now and they were all there today:
2 Mute Swans, 2 Grey Herons, 2 Canada Geese, a handful of Mallards and our shy, nervous friend: the white duck.

I've only ever seen gulls flying over, or landed, in the adjacent fields but today there were around 50 Herring Gulls alighting around the main lake. Chiffchaff were plentiful, a couple of Swallows and a very handsome Jay were also in attendance.

Otherwise, it was a quiet day for birds so I took the opportunity to take a few other photographs:

The hide. You can find me in here most days, huddled against the wall, avoiding those Artic winds.

A couple of locals

and......a dandelion.

Later this afternoon I paid a visit to nearby Ashleworth Ham, where I managed to get this photo of a Redstart:

So nothing new for the patch list today but there's time. There's always time.

Nice weather for.....

"Nice weather for ducks", people say when it's lashing it down.
Really?
I got away early from work today and I thought as the rain was torrential it was pointless going to the Orchard Centre (I've had plently of experience of birding here in wet conditions!).
So I thought I'd go down to Ashleworth Ham. Ideal weather for ducks, I reasoned!
I was slightly disappointed then to see just a single Shelduck, a Wigeon, 9 Canada Geese and a couple of sorry looking Mute Swans.
On a positive note the Swallows (about a dozen) seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the rain!

Another day, another ........ hare?

I'm thinking of changing the name of the blog to Hartpury Orchard Centre Hare Blog.
I took 132 photographs this morning. 3 shakey images of a fleeing Grey Heron and 129 more of Brown Hares.
The sun was trying hard to get out from behind the clouds this morning, but it was cold (for May) and still quite windy.
A smattering of birds were on or around the water and reed beds. 2 Grey Herons, 2 Mute Swans, 8 Mallards, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Reed Buntings, several Chiffchaff, a Linnet, 3 Herring Gulls and a Buzzard.
It was nice to finally see more Swallows around - about a dozen today.
So nothing new and no rarities to report.
Thank goodness then for a pair of Brown Hares who allowed me to get close enough to take some half decent photographs (well I like 'em!).

Click a photo to enlarge.

Hare fact of the day: Hares eat large quantities of plant material and so their digestive system is specially adapted to cope with this. During the day they produce soft faeces (droppings) which they then eat. This means that the food in these faeces is digested a second time, extracting more nutrition from it.

And I bet they've got bad breath too!

Whistle down the wind

There's something reassuringly dissapointing about Local Patch birding in May.
I don't know if it's the biting wind, the lashing rain or even the unseasonal hailstorms - or possibly the combination of all of these elements - that ensures such a complete lack of birds. But boy, was today one of those days:

After a long week at work and a busy day off , I arrived with my usual enthusiasm in tact about 5.30pm. A small flock of Goldfinches greeted me and I made my way to the hide. A Grey Heron flew up and over me and a number of Mallards huddled together near the reed bird.
I managed to get a couple of shots of the elusive White Duck.  Is it a Mallard?

I didn't get much time to consider this before the heavens opened and the deluge began. It was so bad I even got wet in the hide!
Mission aborted. Wet, cold......... and reassuringly dissapointed.

Hare we go!

I could only manage a mid-afternoon visit today. This, for me at least, seems to be the worst time of day for birding. The birds are between morning and evensong, and on a warm day (yes it was!) they seem to evaporate in the heat.
So with a nagging sense of pessimism I began my "rounds".
As I thought, most of the birds were skulking in the hedgerows. Plenty of Chiffchaff heard but not seen, a Whitethroat, 2 Blackcaps.
On or around the main pond, as seen from the hide, were 2 Grey Herons, 2 Mute Swans, 4 Canada Geese (yes, Billy No-mates has found a girlfriend), a Moorhen, several Coot and 4 pairs of Mallards.
Interestingly there is also a near pure white duck with a single duckling in attendance. Probabaly an escaped domestic duck, but for all intents and purposes I'd say it's a white Mallard.
I then heard the unmistakable twittering of Linnets and thought "By Jove, that's No.57 in the bag!"
8 all together and they even paused for a photograph:

And then, the first of four Brown Hares bounded into view (that pale line on the photograph is not a fault. It's out of focus barbed wire! If I had the time I'd Photoshop it out!).

At least 30 Jackdaws were present today and although it's hardly a rarity I saw my first Rook on the patch (No. 58). A lovely male Kestrel, a pair of Reed Buntings and 4 Stock Dove and a Great Spotted Woodpecker rounded of the day...... almost.
As I got back to the roadside I caught site of a Collared Dove.
Not a bad afternoon after all.

The first day of Summer

Apparently today is officialy the first day of summer, so as the sun was shining and the there was no hint of wind I thought the omens looked good.
In fact it was decidedly quiet for 7:30 in the morning! However the familar residents were in their usual positions: 2 Grey Herons, a pair of Mute Swans and the 3 Canada Geese. There were around 6 pairs of Mallards too. No sign of the ducklings I saw a few weeks back. Maybe the poor weather conditions took it's toll?
I spent the next hour or so by the reed beds trying to get a good photograph of a Reed Bunting. They were being extremely elusive today, refusing to climb to the top of the reeds and I had a devil of a job focusing the lens through the layers of stems. My best effort is below:

Other birds today included a Whitethroat, 2 Jays, a Greater Spotter Woodpecker, 2 Buzzards, a Stock Dove and 6 Chiffchaff.

A large Brown Hare bounded across my path as I made my way back to the hide.