Wonders of Witley Common.

A foggy start to the day as I headed south-west to carry out some much needed garden maintenance for my parents ..... hedge trimming!

Knowing that I had time to spare before my expected ETA I paid a visit to the sandy heathland at Witley Common where a Jackdaw was patiently surveying the scene as the sun slowly began to break through and burn off the fog and eventually lift the temperature to simulate a summers day!

The common comprises a mixture of dry heath with Common and Bell Heather plus Gorse; wet heathland where you find Cross-leaved heath and ponds that often dry outin the summer; grassland and rich woodland consisting of Scot's Pine, Silver Birch, English and Turkey Oak, Willow, Sweet Chestnut plus Hazel, Elder and Aspen. A rich habitat that promises much in the right conditions. Check out this link or more information on Lowland Heath.

During my 90 minute stroll across part of the open dry heathland and surrounding woodland edge I logged the following species; Jay, Carrion Crow, Cuckoo, Linnet, TREE PIPIT, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Common Redstart, Blackbird, Wren, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Woodpigeon, Nuthatch,  BRAMBLING, Stonechat, Common Whitethroat, Swallow, Pheasant, Kestrel and Yellowhammer. Most of my sightings were fairly distant so the following image have all been cropped.

Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)

Obviously not the clear shot I would have preferred but sometimes you have to accept what is on offer. I watched this individual perform its distant display flight and parachute down to another lofty tree top perch unlike its close cousin the Meadow Pipit that generally lands on the floor at the end of its flight. 

Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus)

I am usually alerted to this chat's location by its repetative throaty clicking call and today was no exception. As soon as I lined up the distant shot it moved to another favourite perch ... ah well, patience I say to myself, it will probably come back in a few moments ... and it did.  

 Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

For once there were far more Willow Warblers around the heathland singing their descending verse than the Chiffchaffs on my local patch.

Three for the price of one ... Tree Pipit, Yellowhammer and Chaffinch.

Plenty of Brimstone on the wing in such lovely sunny weather.

So that was the easy part of my day, the following three hours wielding a hedge trimmer has left its mark on my arm muscles but tomorrow morning will hopefully be another relaxing few hours as I reconnoitre the landscape at Hatchlands Park in preparation for a 'Dawn Chorus' walk in two weeks time.   FAB.

For more WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY images, please follow this link. 

Treading the heathland again.

Just over a week ago I made another visit to Thursley Common, an area of lowland heath, and although conditions were not ideal, with overcast skies and a constant stiff breeze (so what's new), I tramped around for a few hours at my usual casual pace.

Keeled Skimmer resting on the boardwalk.

The main boardwalk out to Pine Island was being repaired by the warden and helpers so after a search for any other dragons I headed off in a different direction and went diagonally across the the heathland where the other boardwalk, usually under water in winter, is also looking a bit worse for wear. It was very quiet apart from the occasional calls from Stonechats and a brief distant sighting of a hawking Hobby.

Views around the reserve.

(Clockwise from top left - Gatekeeper, Grayling. Silver Y Moth (I think!) and Black Darter.

The Black Darter and the Grayling were nice finds and I'll post some other images in future posts. Hearing the sound of a woodie tapping away for a meal high in the pines I wondered if it would hang around long enough for a photocall......happily he did.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus major)

The forecast for the days ahead is not brilliant but I'm hoping at some stage to get to the coast and find something different to post.  FAB.

Norfolk Review (Part 1) - Dersingham Bog

After a 3 hour drive eastwards two weeks ago we set up camp on a site within the Sandringham Estate which has been vastly improved and expanded since our previous visit many years ago. The Site Manager asked if we wanted to be in the open or close to the wildlife.....silly question....we chose a shaded spot amongst the trees where we were constantly serenaded by cooing Woodpigeons, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, the occasional noisy Black-headed Gulls and a very vocal Garden Warbler imitating other 'Sylvia' species by day plus hooting Tawny Owl and roding Woodcock by night.

Just in case anyone is interested the folding camper has many 'mod-cons' including mains electric hook-up with 12v transformer, interior lighting, 3-way fridge with a wardrobe above, gas cooker with 3 hobs, grill and oven, sink with drainer, hot water heater, blown air heater (hot and cold), wash room with cassette toilet and hand basin, 2 settees with under seat storage, 2 extended double beds plus room to sleep 2 more using the folding table and seat cushions as a mattress....AND it all folds down to a third the size of a caravan and much easier to tow. The awning doubles the floor space available so there is plenty of room for the two of us to spread out......just like being at home.

Dersingham Bog NNR was only a 30 minute walk or a few minutes by car from the camp site. This bog covering 159 hectares forms part of the Sandringham Royal Estate and is managed by English Nature. A mixed habitat of dry and wet lowland heath, acid mire plus deciduous and coniferous woodland. The mire lies on shallow peat, bordered on one side by a steep escarpment containing large areas of dry heath and woodland and it marks the edge of the ancient coastline. Specialised plants include bog asphodel, round-leaved sundew, cranberry and white-beaked sedge. It is also an important site for breeding Shelduck, Woodlark, Tree Pipit and the Nightjar, a migrant visitor plus the Black Darter Dragonfly.

A distant view of Shelduck that breed on the bog.

Bird sightings were thin on the ground but included Linnet (see photo above), Tree Pipit, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Skylark, Swift, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Willow Warblers, Blackcap, Goldfinch, Carrion Crow and Green Woodpecker BUT no sign of any Woodlarks.

A surprise find was this small pond hidden by trees and shrubbery with rhodos in full bloom where I watched various 'Damsels' including this Large Red plus a basking Common Lizard on the boardwalk.

Whilst the weather conditions were not ideal...strong cold easterly winds and a damp overcast sky.....I did manage to find a female Four-spotted Chaser who eventually rested briefly for a photo-call. A late evening visit to hear and see Nightjars is a must if you are in the vicinity but I didn't have to go that far for my treat....more of that in a future post.......FAB.