Sunday March 12 - In the doldrums

 It's tough out there. Since my last post I paid visits to two heronries to see how well they were doing. In driving snow on Wednesday I counted 11 nests (six definitely occupied) at Umberslade Park, and four occupied nests at Arrow Valley Lake. I got very wet and cold, and saw nothing much else of note, barring eight Gadwall and a Little Grebe at the former.

This morning it was mild, almost spring-like, and so my first visit to Morton Bagot for a fortnight was carried out in an optimistic frame of mind. Dave joined me, and we met Tony and Leigh as they left. They told us that they had caught very few birds and had refrained from ringing a Chaffinch which was suffering from a scalyleg fungal infection. I'd heard about this bird from another source earlier in the winter.

We pressed on regardless, and soon witnessed a couple allowing their labrador off its lead to jump into the pools at the pool field flushing a pair of Shelducks in the process. It seems a shame that HOEF have spent loads of money trying to improve the habitat there, only to have it trashed by thoughtless dog-owners.

At least a pair of Stonechats were still present and apparently unperturbed. We got to the flash field where the recent rain has raised the water level and most birds were difficult to see on the furthest flash. These included the Shelducks, three Wigeon, about 10 Teal, and a pair of Lapwings.

The days of multiple Lapwing pairs here seem a distant memory

On a slightly more positive note we counted 27 Meadow Pipits which were no doubt on spring passage, and had a brief view of two male Fallow Deer sporting a full set of antlers each.

We scanned for Wheatears in vain. Perhaps the habitat no longer suits them.

I've had better weeks.

But there are always moths. I put the trap out overnight and in wet and windy conditions caught four moths including two new for the year. One was the boring adventive micro Light Brown Apple Moth, but the other was a macro, a March Moth. I didn't catch one last year.

March Moth