Some unexpected action in the car park over the last few days with 3 young Jackdaws making a nuisance of themselves. Begging for food, climbing on people, pecking at your feet etc. Not sure where they have come from (I mean, I know where babies come from - just the location of these). They seem very tame. We are asking people not to fed them as to discourage them from pestering people at picnic benches etc. We have left bowls of water out for them to drink and bathe in but that's it. They are rather cute but could get annoying very quickly and we don't want them to become reliant on people for food - they will have to learn to forage for themselves.
Plenty of other young birds are being seen around the reserve at the moment. A couple of groups of cygnets has been nice to see after we seemed to lose well above average numbers of Mute Swans over the Autumn and Winter - perhaps (not proven) due to Avian Flu. Groups of young Mallard can also be seen - I surprised a group this morning whilst checking a sluice (they surprised me too). Fledged Robins and Blackbirds have also been reported to me whilst I have seen a group of Long Tailed Tits around Waltons on a few occasions this week - perhaps a family group moving and feeding together? This Kingfisher was spotted at Loxtons this week and photographed by John Crispin - check out the white tip to the mandible suggesting that this is a juvenile bird. Thanks John:
Whilst from the Avalon Hide you maybe lucky enough to see some Bearded Tit youngsters. I recently had a family group whilst there and there have been a few other sightings reported over the last couple of week - you've just got to be lucky sometimes. Thanks to Andrew Kirby who snapped these juvenile Bearded Tits this week from the hide:
Young great crested grebes are around too. Waltons is a good place to look - 3 youngsters with parents on the western side have been spotted throughout the week, whilst there are at least 2 pairs on the eastern side also. A single youngster was calling in one of the pools on the way to the Avalon Hide this morning but looked to be diving and feeding itself quite well - a good job done by the parents.
Other birds are perhaps wanting to be parents again or haven't started yet. I say this as a lady showed me a photograph taken today of Great Crested Grebes doing a weed dance at the Avalon Hide - quite late I guess but not unheard of. Perhaps they are reinforcing bonds?
Another bird has been seen nest building in the south section of Loxtons - thanks again to John Crispin for his image:
Plenty of Coot and Moorhen with young including at the car park pools where well grown Moorhen chicks are still hanging out. Thanks to John Crispin for his action shot of a Coot using its lobed feet to propel itself across the water. Perhaps to chase of an intruder - you know how feisty these Coots get sometimes:
Many birds are out still feeding youngsters - look out Coot and Moorhen chicks, the Marsh Harriers are very busy every day. The Avalon Hide, VP1 and VP2 (First and second viewing platforms) are all good places to look out for them. This photo sequence from John Crispin shows a male carrying a food packet pursued by a female. As far as John Could tell she never got it off the male. The female looks like the bird nesting in the area between VP1 and the Avalon Hide whilst the male usually hunts at the western end of the reserve, so perhaps they are not an item. Hard to tell what the prey is on this occasion - any suggestions? Thanks for the photos John:
You'll more than likely see other birds out feeding too. Many smaller birds can often be seen with a beak full of insects, such as this reed warbler which has been busy catching damselflies. Thanks again to John Crispin for his shot:
One thing you will notice on your visit to the reserve at the moment is the huge numbers of dragonfly and damselfly present. It's quite a sight. A good variety too with some species being seen particularly early - we have had the first Brown Hawkers of the season and last week our first Ruddy Darters which is early for both. Look out also for Broad Bodied Chaser, Black Tailed Skimmer and Scare Chaser - the males of these are all a powder blue colour whilst the females are yellow - all similar but subtly different too once you get your eye in - easier said than done sometimes.
The larger hawker type will most likely be the Emperor - apple green thorax and a long blue tail - our biggest dragonfly. Whilst checking sluices this morning we discovered a large number of exuvia - the cases left behind after emerging from the water. There were a really good number in one place and all large, so most likely emperor emergence on a big scale at one point.
The most common dragonfly will be the Four Spotted Chaser - out in their hundreds all across the reserve. Thanks to John Crispin with a bit of a close up of one of these fine beasts showing lots of detail:
Damselflies are plentiful too. The blues will be either: Common Blue, Variable or Azure - there are some very subtle differences here. You may also fine Blue tailed or Red Eyed (which also have a blue tail) often seen perching on floating vegetation or the wonderful Banded Demoiselle - perhaps stop at the old rail bridge or the road bridge near the reserve entrance to see these.
Whilst at either of these locations look out for Grass Snakes often seen basking here - try not to loiter for too long - we don't want to cause too much disturbance.
Reed Warblers may be busy collecting food for their chicks but they could be collecting for something much larger and hungrier - the Cuckoo. It's said that the Cuckoo changes it's song in June but they were belting out their usual call every day this week and there have been quite a few sightings. Perhaps this is coinciding with a second brood of the Reed Warbler - their favourite host around the reserve.
They will be watching the warblers closely to make sure the timing is just right to lay their own eggs in the unsuspecting Reed warblers nest. Thanks to John Crispin who took these shots on Tuesday at Waltons:
Other warblers are spread across the reserve of course - the very noisy Sedge Warbler doesn't often go unnoticed - there's one near the Avalon Hide, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler can be heard singing in the tree lines and the Cettis Warbler belting out it's loud calls from the reed beds.
Garden Warbler can also be heard - very similar to the Blackcap song, but they can be hard to see. They, like many warblers can be hard to identify and the distinguishing thing about the Garden warbler is that it has no real distinguishing features - can make things a little tricky. Here's to shots from John Crispin taken this week, including one of it singing in flight. Thanks John:
Always nice to see - often heard but not seen. Another, not often seen bird, is the Bittern. May and June are generally the best months to see them though and one was reported by a visitor from the Avalon Hide this morning, much to their delight. Sightings, in general this week have been pretty good - VP1 and the Avalon Hide seem like good places at the moment. thanks to Andrew Kirby who took these shots from the Avalon Hide yesterday:
They are one of a few heron species you may see at Ham Wall during your visit. The Grey Heron - familiar to most, continue to nest in the Waltons reedbeds - can be seen dropping in at various locations followed by a lot of noise from greedy youngsters. Little Egrets can be seen most days but usually just one or ,two whilst Great White Egrets are hard to miss. We will bring you some figures soon of what appears to be another very successful breeding season for them (better than last year across the Avalon Marshes).
Plenty for these birds to eat of course including the Iberian Water frog which you may hear calling in the reed beds - particularly in the Waltons and Loxtons sections. These are a non-native introduced accidentally or otherwise in the 60's it is thought - perhaps when fish pools were restocked? They live together with common Frog in other places and occupy a slightly different niche and spawn at different times (Common Frog much earlier), so it's not thought they are detrimental to our native frogs. Good fodder for many birds though. Thanks to John Crispin for his shot taken at Waltons this week:
Also this week: Great Spotted Woodpecker seen and heard daily, Great Reed Warbler heard from VP2 on Saturday and possibly Sunday (is it back?) - no further reports as far as I'm aware, Buzzards flying high on thermals most days, Jays seen frequently including at the car park, Roe Deer seen laying in tall grasses around trails - including Waltons, Hobbies seen most days but just got to be in the right place at the right time and Grass Snake seen swimming from the Avalon Hide.
I'd better leave it there as I'm already well past home time. Thanks for reading though and have a wonderful weekend - with perhaps some very welcome rain!