I feel like I've been largely absent from the reserve this week. On Monday, some of us took a trip down to Poole to join in a cruise of the harbour with the Birds of Poole Harbour group. It was well worth it and I would highly recommend doing it and supporting the wonderful work they do along side the local council and the conservation NGOs.
We were lucky enough to see White Tailed Eagle and Osprey among a host of other species.
Wednesday I was also away, yesterday we spent a while on the far edge of the reserve and Friday afternoons are nearly always in the office. You'd think I would have much to write about, but this is Ham Wall and there is always something going on and plenty of eyes and keen photographers to help me out.
I did pop in briefly on Monday evening for just under an hour - I'm not often here at that time of day, so it does feel a bit different. A single Cattle Egret flew over the first viewing platform (VP1) and Grey Herons were squawking away in the Waltons reedbeds. A juvenile has once again been sat on our tern rafts this week waiting to be fed by parents. This juvenile however decided to sit and preen on top of the Sand Martin box:
The Iberian Water Frogs were calling quite loudly from Waltons and Loxtons as they often do in the evenings - you can hear them in the daytime too, so if you are hearing a strange sound that you don't recognise, this is your most likely culprit.
Bird song, although reduced, is still good and always pleasant to hear. Blackcaps in particular can be heard at several locations - not to be confused with the Garden Warbler which sounds similar. There was a Garden Warbler singing by the second viewing platform (VP2) yesterday and a Blackcap was nearby to hear the subtle contrast in styles.
Visibly of course, they are very different. I saw a couple of young Blackcaps moving in the brambles ahead of me at Waltons today near VP1.
Another Garden Warbler was present on the main track on Monday evening and was doing repeated phrases at times, much like a Song Thrush - it took me a little while to confirm what it was.
The bird known, apparently, to "change its tune in June" is the Cuckoo. Cuckoo has been heard and seen this week though - all appears normal with their tunes at the moment, unless there's something wrong with my ears.
Another familiar sound is that of the Bittern. Some booming from the males is still occurring but there has been a noticeable reduction. Sightings however have been good this week. I suspect there are several active nests and these are females moving to and from nest sights feeding ever hungrier mouths - the males, of course play no part in this side of things - its all girl power. Both viewing platforms and the Avalon Hide have been hotspots this week:
Both these pics would appear to be busy females - the lack of any colour around the lores (where the bill meets the face) suggests this.
Another star of the reserve can also be seen from similar locations - the Marsh Harrier. Food can still be seen being carried to nest sites and some juveniles have been seen at a couple of locations. When they become more mobile you may begin to see them more easily. Look for darker brown birds with gingery caps. Having said that plumage can vary greatly even amongst the adults. I think I mentioned a fairly unmarked female in last weeks blog.
Well there is also a fairly unmarked male who is often seen at the far end of the reserve - beyond VP2. He certainly doesn't have the text book plumage you would expect. Unlike a male seen from VP2 yesterday, who very much did have the obvious banding on the wings.
John Crispin's photos show this lesser marked male and then the latter 2 images show it diving for prey:
Andrew Kirby's image here, taken this week, shows the more classic male plumage:
The Common Cranes are still being seen in this area - with another sighting of the chick swimming with the adult last weekend. Behaviour has changed a little - perhaps prompting the idea that they had failed - but expert advice suggests that normally they would leave the immediate area if that was the case. They tend to be landing now a bit further west - nearer to the wind pump so perhaps they have relocated the chick to a new area - time will tell.
The Avalon Hide this morning was a great place to see Bearded Tit with 2 small pockets of birds seen then a larger group - our volunteer estimated about 30 birds in total - wonderful news. I heard one "pinging" today at Loxtons when we were inspecting the access here. It's not good news I'm afraid. The track to the screen is still well underwater - in fact the level has gone up, not down. The longer route round to the hide also has a couple of very muddy spots which are pretty much impassable at present, so we have decided to close this route also for the time being - apologies. The northern track of Loxtons, which runs parallel to the main path is the only section which remains open at present.
Sandie Andrews got this shot today of what I believe to be a juvenile male Bearded Tit:
Plenty of other juvenile birds are being spotted around the reserve: quite a few pairs of Mute Swan with cygnets, Canada Geese with goslings, young Coot and Moorhen in Waltons this morning along with juvenile Great Crested Grebes. This female Mallard was also spotted with her well grown young this morning:
In the tree lines look out for young fledged birds making their first flights into their new world - this Blue Tit for example:
In the reedbeds - apart from the possibility of Bearded Tit look out for young Reed Warblers or Sedge Warblers such as this youngster:
Many adult Reed Warblers can still be heard chattering away in the reeds:
This ringed juvenile Great White Egret was also seen this week. It's been decided that the ring reads AFT - so this is a Ham Wall bird from the far eastern end of the reserve.
Plenty of Great White Egrets to see every day at Ham Wall - quite an easy spot given the numbers in the local area.
At the car park, Great Spotted Woodpeckers were busy feeding youngsters in our wildlife garden (the young birds have the red caps):
I remember in the past these woodpeckers taking back beaks full of Four Spotted Chaser dragonflies to the nest holes. They seem to be good fodder for a number of species (including other, larger dragonflies). It's a good job they are present in their thousands isn't it?
The Waltons loop is one of the best places to see them in those sort of numbers. They are still emerging too. This one emerged on the Tor View Hide path this morning, so I took a quick snap with my phone:
Its old casing (exuvia) is just hidden underneath it. They use water to pump themselves up to full size and the expel this water afterward through the end of the abdomen - I was able to see a tiny droplet fall from t at one point. The markings are barely visible on the wings at present but looks to be the Praenubila form - those which have what looks like larger dark marks rather than the usual spots. This is a rarer genetic trait that some of these have, although it feels as though I am seeing a few more of these as time goes on - a full adult was perched on reeds near the Waltons disabled parking spaces this morning.
Other new for the season dragonflies, have been seen this week. I've had my first Southern Hawkers and Brown Hawkers of the year.
Again this week, more sightings of both Lesser Emperor and Norfolk Hawker. We had both at VP2 within a minute of each other at VP2 yesterday. Our volunteer had 5 Norfolk Hawkers on his survey yesterday - so it looks as though numbers are increasing. They could be individuals that have moved from the east coast but could equally be (perhaps even more likely), individuals which have migrated from France (perhaps Normandy), where I think they are simply called Green-eyed Hawkers (obviously with a French accent). Andrew Kirby took this shot close to VP1 this week:
Black Tailed Skimmers, Broad Bodied Chasers and Scarce Chasers are also present:
Scarce Chaser male: Bryn Evans
Scarce Chaser female: Bryn Evans
Damselflies include: Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue, Azure, Variable, Blue Tailed and Red Eyed Damselfly:
Red Eyed Damselfly female: Bryn Evans
Bryn has once again come up trumps with some more fascinating insects he's found on the reserve:
Western Honey Bee: Bryn Evans
Spotted Longhorn Beetle: Bryn Evans
Common Red Soldier Beetle: Bryn Evans
Dark Bush Cricket: Bryn Evans
Black Lagoon Hoverfly (great name!! ): Bryn Evans
Crab Spider (Xysticus genus)
The elongated abdomen and the habitat (dark, shady area by the main drain) - suggests Swamp Crab Spider but it requires a microscopic examination of the genitalia for a conclusive ID - so I think we'll just leave this one as it is.
Also this week: Hobby seen at VP1 this morning, Sparrowhawk from VP2 yesterday, several Kingfisher sightings this morning from VP1 - most likely adults at an active nest nearby, Green Woodpecker heard at the car park, Grass Snakes and Common Lizards spotted at the old rail bridge (including this morning), Willow Warblers & Chiffchaff singing each day, Peregrine from VP1 on Wednesday, Bullfinch at the car park, Reed Buntings perching and singing in the reed beds, Kestrel spotted over the car park earlier in the week and Jays calling noisily from woodlands and occasionally seen in flight like this one from the Avalon Hide last week:
That's it for this week - time has slipped away as quick as ever.
Thank you to all who have contributed their amazing photos and information: John Crispin, Bryn Evans, Andrew Kirby and Sandie Andrews.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!