After the recent wet and windy weather I was rather hoping that a few new birds would pop their heads out. But that does not seem to be the case. The two juv Black Necked Grebes and a few Black Tailed Godwits remain at Summer Leys, female Ruddy Shelduck at Hollowell and Crossbills around the car park area at Wakerley Wood. This has always been a favourite haunt for Crossbills and usually they are very easy to locate as they are quite vocal and quite noisy eaters as they munch on the cones.
I visited Harrington Airfield yesterday and finally managed to see the male Common Redstart which frequents the bushes between the chipping compound and the first bunker. Prior to this I had heard it calling and watched the vegetation move as it flitted through the bushes. There was a Barn Owl out hunting and 7 Crossbills and 2 Siskins flying over.
Today I went to Pitsford Reservoir. I didn't spend too long around the big side as it was extremely busy with people. At least 2 Common Sandpipers were flying around and an Osprey made a short appearance. It was nice to escape to the peace and quiet of the small side north of the causeway. Plenty of birds around including 2 Little Egrets doing a good job of hiding themselves in the reeds. The male Red Crested Pochard remains in the back of the Scaldwell bay and i noticed at least 4 Wigeon.
There was a large raft of " aythya" ducks of which there were over 230 Tufted Duck which is a good number for this time of year and always worth a close look just incase there is something more interesting among them.
It seems that all the young birds are out and about. Our garden is full of young Goldfinches, Starlings and Jackdaws. In the morning just after first light we often have 50 Jackdaws feeding, most of them youngsters and very vocal. I certainly do not need an alarm clock with these but I do wonder how popular we are with our neighbours !! The warblers seem to have had a successful year as lots of young Blackcap, Whitethroat and Willow Warblers about.
I was pleased to see that my two families of Grey Partridge are still intact, fingers crossed, as I think that they always seem to struggle.
At Pitsford it was quite entertaining to watch the young Black Headed Gulls and Common Terns, both species giving their respective parents grief.
One of my highlights today was when I was out running early this morning. I heard something which I haven't heard for a while, the begging call of a Tawny Owl. So after a slight deviation from my route I located 2 young Tawny Owls looking at me from the safety of a big oak tree.
The other highlight of my day came this evening . I had a very excited message from a friend who had just seen an Otter. This confirmed my suspicions as I had seen signs of activity over the last couple of days. I walked that way this evening and if I'm honest didn't expect to see anything but I managed to see it as it swam along the brook. Amazing , and just as I'm recovering from this encounter a Barn Owl appeared a literally flew at head height seemingly oblivious to me standing there.
Regards Eleanor
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