Patch Wildlife.

Just a few images of the varied wildlife seen on my patch walks during the past six weeks.

Strangely Mute Swan is a rare sighting on Epsom Great Pond. It didn't stay very long!

Two pairs of Tufted Ducks have appeared on the ponds. Once again it will be interesting to see if they stick around to breed.

I didn't carry out my weekly transect walk from mid to end of April due to the colder, windy conditions so only six Speckled Wood recorded in the past six weeks.

A female Orange Tip with its very distinctive under-wing pattern.

I didn't record any of this species on the Ashtead Common transect last year but this female was spotted on the 10 April this year and a male was recorded on 2 May. Brimstone's have been the most common species recorded this season but no photo opportunities so date.

Chiffchaff. Just one of many heard and seen around the common. There will be some more images on my FABirding blog shortly.

Willow Warbler singing from a typically high perch.

I nearly stepped on this Adder a week ago. It was basking on an open path but decided to slip into the nearby undergrowth.

Hopefully in a week or so I will have something totally different to post when I return from a trip to Northern Greece. FAB.

Winter Birding.

A few images of species seen during my winter birding forays.

A reflective pair of Mute Swans on a very cold January day at Frensham Little Pond on the only ice free patch of water.

On the same January day a rare inland Surrey sighting was this juvenile Long-tailed Duck that spent some weeks at Frensham Great and Little Pond.

A Kestrel just taking off. A resident and regular sighting on my local patch.

On a sunnier day in January a record shot of a Dartford Warbler, a resident breeder on Thursley Common. This species appears to have fared well this winter.

A Kingfisher seen at Tices Meadows in February seeking food from a very small stream when most of the main water areas were frozen.

A trip to Staines Reservoir in early March produced this record image of a long staying male Scaup (top left) in the company of Tufted Ducks .....

... and during the same visit several Black-necked Grebes in various plumage's.

Finally, my favourite winter goose, the Dark-bellied Brent. Just one of a few thousand seen around Langstone Harbour earlier this month.

Linking to:
Wild Bird Wednesday
Saturday's Critters
I'D-Rather-B-Birdin' 

Treading more Boards.

Another boardwalk trail that I like to wander is located at the Riverside Country Park just over a 30 minute drive from home. The start of my leisurely stroll takes me a short distance alongside the River Wey Navigation where I watched a Common Buzzard being harried by Crows before stepping onto the first stretch of boards leading over stagnant water in a small woodland.

Depending on the time of day and the wind direction the road noise from the adjacent A3 can be quite overpowering so the ears have to work a bit harder to pick out the calls of the resident birds.

On this occasion it was the usual suspects; Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Wren, Song Thrush plus the intermittent song of a Blackcap. 

As I walked towards the main lake I saw a number of male Orange Tip butterflies patrolling the grassland but non of them stopped for a photo call!

The main lake didn't hold much of interest just Coot, Canada Geese, Mallard and Moorhen so I turned onto the main boardwalk that crosses the marsh and immediately picked up the scratchy sounds of a Sedge Warbler, typically hidden from view, and parked myself on one of the highly carved seats.

A little time here enabled a few distant shots of a male Reed Bunting (below) singing while endeavouring to maintain its balance on a flimsy perch in the gusty breeze.

One arm of the boardwalk leads into the damp woodland where there is a curved screen with portholes overlooking a small area of open water. Unsurprisingly parts of the hide screen have already been vandalised plus there was recent evidence of a fire on the floor!
You can view an article in The Guildford Dragon News which has images of the original boardwalk and hide construction completed in May 2013 at at exorbitant cost of £210,000 but at least it means you don't have to wear waders to cross the marsh!

A Mute Swan (above) drifted in and then out of view followed shortly after by Mrs Mallard with seven youngsters in tow who spent some minutes paddling in and out of the shadows beneath the boardwalk.

Following the boardwalk again past clumps of Marsh Marigold towards the Wey Navigation I logged a lot more very active Orange Tips, plus one Peacock butterfly before crossing the bridge to sit awhile at Stoke Lock and watch the peacefully slow activity on the waterway.  

A Grey Wagtail was extremely busy catching and carrying insects to a nearby nest. Retracing my steps I listened to Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat while being serenaded by a Robin.

Linking to:
Good Fences
Saturday's Critters

Boardwalk Birding.

On Tuesday I made another visit to Thursley Common in the hope of catching up with the over-wintering Great Grey Shrike. After an unsuccessful  two hour search around 'Shrike Hill' under an overcast sky and a strong westerly wind with very little avian activity apart from a noisy Carrion Crow and disturbing two Woodlark I returned to the car for a rest.
After a while the clouds gave way to afternoon sunshine so I decided to have another search and eventually added this species to my year list but unfortunately it never got close enough to the lens!

On my return journey along the boardwalk a male Stonechat (above) obliged the lens by perching in a bare Birch and then a brief sighting of a Dartford Warbler as it headed for deep cover in the Gorse just before a female Reed Bunting (below) also made use of the flowering Gorse for a perch as the wind ruffled her feathers.

On Friday under a much calmer, sunny sky I visited Riverside Country Park, on the outskirts of Guildford where I logged Cormorant, Mute Swan, Mallard, Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Coot, Lapwing, Kestrel, Green Woodpecker, Blackbird, Robin, Starling, Crow, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Treecreeper, Wren, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon and added Grey Wagtail plus Cetti's Warbler to my County year list.

An immature Mute Swan (above) changing into its adult plumage flying up the Wey Navigation and (below) a male Reed Bunting seen singing from its flimsy perch as I slowly wandered across the boardwalk.

Wishing everyone, wherever you are, a glorious wildlife watching weekend.  FAB.

Linking to Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen.

A Mixed Birding Week.

A mixed week weather wise with dull overcast skies and the occasional sunny period. So here are just a few of the species that found their way in front of the lens.

Following on from my earlier post 'Visit to Warnham L.N.R.' a few more species seen that day including one of the many Blue Tits.

A female Chaffinch.

Mrs Pheasant strutting her stuff! (I have some close-ups of the feather patterns that I'll share in a future post.)

Later in the week I took a quiet stroll around the ponds at Bookham Common which played host to 10 Gadwall who were disturbed by other walkers before I could get any shots, but two of the 6 Tufted Ducks were more obliging.

Don't I look smart?  Male and female Tufted Duck.

A pair of Mute Swans enjoying time together.

Nesting time has begun. The local Grey Herons were flying back and forth about every five minutes collecting appropriate material. It will be interesting to see how many nests are occupied during the breeding season.

And finally a Robin in our garden letting the opposition know that it has taken up residence.

On Sunday, weather permitting, I hope to visit the coast to see some over-wintering waders and my favourite geese, the Black-bellied Brent.  FAB.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Damp Patch Birding.

The current weather pattern, windy, damp and heavily overcast skies, has not been conducive for photography during my recent patch walks. Most of the small birds have stayed in hiding so just a few images of the larger species seen on or around the pond.

Coot still collecting material to build up or repair the nest.
 

A couple of Cormorants called in for a few days and one spent some time trying to capture some warmth from the limited sunshine.

 

Earlier this month a male Northern Shoveler turned up on the Great Pond but typically kept a long way away from the lens. I subsequently spotted him with his mate who spent most of her time in hiding.

Eventually managed to capture him out of the water.

Mute Swans don't turn up on the patch very often so it was nice to see a pair drop in if only very briefly.

A single Black-headed Gull takes a rest from its aerial circuits around the pond.

Moorhen .... and it's time to dig out the wet weather gear!  Linking to I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'.

Wishing everyone a wonderful wildlife watching weekend, wherever you are.  FAB.

Flying Around.

A very windy walk around Heron Pond in Bushy Park today. Certainly not ideal conditions for capturing birds in flight but the camera rose to the challenge.

Mallard preparing for splashdown.

The pond is home to a large number of Black-headed Gulls of various ages now sporting their winter plumage. Above is a 1st-winter still carrying some of its juvenile wing colours and black tail band.

By way of comparison above is an adult BHG in full winter garb.

Occasionally something much larger drops in. I often have difficulty identifying the juvenile larger gulls so this could be a Great Black-backed based on the features shown in the next image BUT I'll wait to hear what the experts say. 

 And finally a fly past by a Mute Swan.

Wishing everyone a wonderful wildlife watching weekend, wherever you are.  FAB.

Linking to Saturday's Critters and I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'.