A splendidly bright sunny day got what it deserved, a decent bird to twitch. A Sandwich Tern was found by Martin Lindop at Earlswood, and as it was a Circle tick I postponed my birthday plans to go and see it.
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| What a belter! |
It obligingly remained all day (it's still there as I'm writing this), so I have no doubt that it is being well-watched. Also present was at least one Common Tern and a Common Sandpiper, but as is typical with a twitch I didn't register much else.
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| Common Tern |
The afternoon was spent with Lyn at Coughton Court, where I was disappointed to see that the House Martin colony which had been busy on my last visit a few years ago was now gone. A staff member I spoke to said he believed that a decision had been taken to destroy it. All too believable.
On the plus side, a couple of Reed Warblers sang from the reeds bordering the small lake, and a Little Grebe was also in residence.
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| Little Grebe |
I was actually birding close to Coughton Court on Tuesday, walking from the outskirts of Alcester along the river Arrow. A pleasant surprise was a small balancing lake containing seven Tufted Ducks, a few Mallard, Canada Geese, and Mute Swans. Nothing terribly exciting, but any new pools are completely welcome.
The highlight of my walk came as I paused to scan a reach of the river opposite King's Coughton. The overhanging vegetation made life difficult.
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| What could be behind these trees? |
Peering through the foliage I noticed a couple of ducklings, and then discovered an attendant Mandarin. This is the second Mandarin brood I have come across locally in the last two years, and I hear there is another at Studley.
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| This was the only shot where the ducklings can be seen (middle right and bottom left) |
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| The female Mandarin |
Shortly after I took these shots I look down at the river beneath me in time to see an Otter swimming upstream beneath the surface toward the Mandarins. I lost sight of it and the Mandarins behind a tree which was obscuring my view, but I could hear the alarmed calls of the duck. I would like to think that the family escaped.
As for other creatures, I saw several Small Heaths and loads of Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles and photographed a micro moth which turned out to be unidentifiable.
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| Small Heath |
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| Epiblema ag (scutulana/cirsiana/something else) |
So no Great Reed Warblers for me this week, but plenty to keep me happy.
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| A Blackcap at Coughton Court |
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