I have been putting a bit of time and effort into my "patch" , in between doing other jobs.
Chiffchaffs were present in various places, but they seem to have stopped singing or moved away. The greater spotted woodpecker could be heard most days and its place seems to have been taken by a song thrush.
No more sign of the meadow pipits and the cattle are now on the moor. Starling families are now visiting garden feeders
I had several jobs to do yesterday morning, and I was not sure what the weather was going to be like, I decided to stay local rather then venture further a field. I did not like the idea of standing behind a piece of rope waiting for the Savi's warbler to appear, as I am still avoiding busy places, even though I have had both jabs. Much as I would like to visit Wheldrake, I did not rate my chances of a long walk without getting wet. North Duffield Carrs was my choice. Although I have been there a lot recently there is always something happening, so it was "high noon" when I arrived. One other car in the car park and as I was getting my things out of the car, a couple and their dog returned, so I had the place to myself.
A quick look at the scrape did not reveal anything special, so I walked down to garganey hide.
There was a mixture of geese, swans and ducks at the far end of the bund.
There were 70 mute swans on the reserve s well as a black swan and a whooper swan. The mute swans became a bit aggressive, which resulted in the greylag geese and the whooper swan moving further along the bund and closer to the hide.
Despite the recent rain, the water level on the reserve is slowly dropping and there are fewer birds about. There was quite a bit of activity just in front of the hide. A sedge warbler was singing to the left of the hide and made frequent trips for food to the right of the hide, but all I saw was the bird in flight..
Reed buntings were also present, with a male singing from various perches. A female perched on a post just outside the hide and I could not decided if she had something to eat or some nesting material.
I decided that it was nesting material. A buzzard was slowly soaring over the wet meadow much to the annoyance of the crows and lapwings.
Its feathers are looking a bit tatty. However due to the constant attacks from other birds I never saw it catch anything.
In the distance a pair of great crested grebes were still there, sometimes shaking their heads as if displaying. If they do decide to nest in their present location, they will soon find themselves on dry land. The rain did eventually start, but did not last long. During the rain shower and afterwards the hirundine started to hunt just above the water, very close to the hide. I have mentioned before how I always promise to appreciate these birds more, after their long journey each year, but don't often spend much time watching them. Yesterday was an opportunity to watch them for a long time. At one time I thought that some of the swallows were going to fly into the hide, as some do at Canal Scrape at Spurn.
The sand martins were very vocal and flying round in groups of three or four. House martins were also there in large numbers. I managed to get a half decent shot.
They were not flying as fast or changed direction as much as the swallows and sand martins did. Swifts remained a bit higher.
Together they formed a large cloud of birds, but I did not see any signs of a hobby.
The greylag geese had moved off the bund when the mutes starting flapping their wings at all the birds and made their way into the field on my left. After feeding for a while they came back to the waters edge for a drink.
They would put their heads up to swallow the water, but I was never able to catch them all doing it at the same time.
I don't know how large an area the reserve is, but for two little egrets it was not large enough as they spent a lot of time chasing each other away. After a mid afternoon snack I walked up to the Geoff Smith hide.
In the field on my right were some linnets and the greylag geese had returned.
The coots that had built their nest on the scrape were swapping over jobs.
Before the second adult sat on the nest I could see at least two red headed youngsters.
A mute swan was also on its nest but it never moved.
A snipe was standing on top of a fence post.
behind it a hare was crossing the field.
Plenty of activity close to the hide, In the tree to the left of the hide a blackcap was singing and I managed to see it twice. A willow warbler was also singing and I also managed to see it. A sedge warbler was singing from a hawthorn bush near the waters edge.
Two male shovelers were still trying to get the attention of a female. Then the tufted ducks started a fight. There were tow pairs of the ducks so I thought at first it was a question of chasing away a bird that had got too close.
It seemed to be the two males who were chasing a female, at one point they were all under the water.
then one male would hold the female under the water
Was it the same deer I saw the other day? Did they have a young deer with them?
I presumed that it was. I left shortly afterwards.
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