Friday July 15

A cool, cloudy morning with a light north-westerly breeze.

I was joined by two friends, both also called Richard, who were keen to be shown some wildlife. To begin with they were kept on their toes by a succession of little brown jobs; Whitethroats, Reed Buntings, Linnets, and the like.

Linnet

In fact, the best discovery on the outward journey was a patch tick for me, albeit deceased and not a bird.

An ex-Mole

I was aware that Moles occur here, the occasional molehill giving their presence away, but it was interesting to see an example of the actual species.

The pool produced an adult and two juvenile Little Grebes, while the flash field served up two newly arrived juvenile Little Ringed Plovers and a handful of Green Sandpipers and Lapwings.

At the Kingfisher Pool we were startled by the call and flash of blue of the first Kingfisher of the year to arrive (and depart). About 30 Swifts were still careering over the unsprayed field, while employees of the Heart of England Forest Project got on with spraying the ridge field.

Our last notable discovery was a female Tufted Duck with two ducklings on the Dragonfly Pool.