Saturday and
Sunday could not possibly have been more different. Saturday grey, wet and
gloomy after heavy overnight rain and Sunday bright, calm and sunny with an
intense light in the clean rain-washed sky. The remaining leaves blazed gold
from the hedgerows and trees. The oaks in particular were at their most
brilliant.
Fieldfares Above (c) Bark below (c) Derek Lane
Fieldfares and
Redwings are everywhere feeding. As well as their familiar chuckling flight
calls they keep up a much quieter continuous chattering as they feed. The
carpark field seemed full of them when I arrived. They are still cautious,
exploding out of the hawthorns ahead of us as we walked along the bridle way.
If one waits patiently they will come closer but they always appear to be on
the far side of the bush to where we are standing. As food becomes scarcer they
will lose some of their inhibitions and then the second screen can become a
great place to get close views of these handsome thrushes.
Marsh Harrier (c) JR
Raptors once
again were the starring birds this weekend. The Marsh Harriers have become a
regular feature of any visit out to the reedbed. On Saturday morning one was
seen to swoop into the reeds and come out clutching an unfortunate Starling. It
settled down to pluck and consume its meal but flew off all too soon as it was
mobbed by several corvids and a hungry Kestrel. Kestrels will often harry other
birds of prey in an effort to steal their catch. We have often seen them
harassing Barn Owls into dropping prey items. One Kestrel on Sunday morning swooped
down onto Greenaways and came up with a large frog in its claws. I had not
heard of them eating frogs and had mistakenly thought that the frogs would have
been hidden away for the winter by the second week in November.
;A stunning
adult male Peregrine made a pass over the reedbed before settling in the
spindly tree in one of the Noke sides hedgerow. The tree appears a bit out
place, I always think it looks as if it twenty
minutes allowing Badger to get some super video footage of it. As far as we
know there are still two Ring-tailed Hen Harriers present, they are only seen
sometimes together, usually at the starling roost.
Ringtail over the reedbed (c) JR
They roam a much larger
territory than the Marsh Harriers and are not so tied to the reedbeds and wet
fields. Merlin are certainly present but as always views are fleeting and
unpredictable. The Short-eared Owl that roosts sometimes in the carpark field
was seen on Saturday but by Sunday had perhaps moved elsewhere.
Goldfinch (c) JR Stonechat (c) Derek Lane
A Green
Sandpiper made a brief appearance on Sunday flying in and landing on one of the
Greenaways scrapes before flying off high and north. A Ruff was on the muddy
edge in front of the first screen on Saturday morning feeding among the loafing
Ducks.
Loafing Ducks (c) JR
Last week’s
Pink-footed Goose has moved on, we spent a long time “grilling” the goose flock
on Sunday morning but were unable to spot it. The family party of White-fronts
is still there as is the lone Barnacle Goose. Wigeon are starting to graze out
on Big Otmoor and their numbers have continued to creep up as have the numbers
of Gadwall at the northern lagoon.
The drake
Gadwall are looking particularly neat and tidy, as if dressed for a day in the
office in their spruce clerical grey suits.
Five Ravens (c) Bark
Five Ravens
flew over together on Sunday calling loudly and tumbling in the sunlight. Their
feathers were so shiny in the bright sunshine that they flashed both silver and
black as they flew. It is unusual to see more than a pair together on the moor
and they may have been a family party in transit.
Bitterns were
yet again seen at the weekend and during the week two were seen at the same
time. There is no way of knowing for certain how many we have here at the
moment but at least four individuals not an unreasonable guess.
Steve and Pete
Roby will keep you up to date with happenings on the moor over the next couple
of weeks while I pursue Bustards, Bee-eaters, Babblers and Barbets in the
Southern hemisphere. Keep an eye open for the odd ”Notmoor” posting.
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