Sunday May 26 - Morton Bagot (the Stonechats fledge)

 This morning Morton Bagot was very damp following overnight rain but my late arrival coincided with an improving situation. 

The Reed Warbler at Netherstead dragonfly ponds was actually showing for the first time this year, and it foretold a reasonably successful visit.

I decided to vary my normal route by tackling the ridge field first. This was largely because the grass was mown along the footpath so there was less chance of wet legs. A Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the hedge adjoining the dragonfly pool field, but remained impossible to see. I had more success with a male Stonechat near the top of the ridge, while a singing Willow Warbler showed some mixed singer tendencies. That's now three local Willow Warblers at three sites doing at least some mixed singing.

A brief sighting of a Falcon sp had me doubling back to the ridge field in a failed attempt to establish what is was. However the search led to the discovery of at least two recently fledged Stonechats apparently attended by two males, neither of which had been ringed.

Juvenile 1

Juvenile 2

Male 1

Male 2

The important thing is that this is the second time Stonechats have been confirmed to have bred here. The story in the rest of Warwickshire is evolving slowly, but it may be that still barely more than two sites within the current boundary have confirmed breeding success.

There may well be three males on the site because there was a colour-ringed individual in a different section earlier in the month. I didn't see any females today, so its conceivable that another breeding attempt is underway. Stonechats can have multiple broods in a season.

Once I'd torn myself away from the Stonechats, the rest of the site produced only the usual birds. Four Mute Swans remain in the flash field, and a pair of Canada Geese now have goslings there. Two singing Sedge Warblers and at least two pairs of Reed Buntings (one of the latter carrying food) also suggested a successful breeding season.

However, it's not all good news. Tony has been checking nest-boxes and had found two out of three broods of  Blue Tits were dead, presumably a result of the wet spring season.

The dampness on the path at Netherstead suited the local House Martins and I watched up to five collecting mud for their nests.

House Martins collecting mud

Other hirundines seem to be a little down in numbers, with maybe just two pairs of Swallows flying around today. I did at least see two more Swifts, but have still yet to see any over the Winyates area of Redditch this year.