Tuesday May 14 - Mappleborough Green and the Arrow

 After steady overnight rain a cloudy dampish day was forecast, leaving me unsure where to go. I decided that Mappleborough Green was worth a look as it at least has some potential wader habitat.

Unfortunately its also very small, so I suspect most migrating waders just don't see it. There was virtually no change since my last visit. At least the three Little Ringed Plovers were still in residence, a couple of near-adult Mute Swans had turned up, and a Shelduck had made the short trip from Morton Bagot.

Little Ringed Plovers

I decided to drive to a bridge across the Arrow near Studley and explore that area. This at least brought a few surprises.

I'm used to searching for moths in the undergrowth, but rarely find caterpillars. Today however I was lucky and spotted a rather impressive one among the nettles munching away on the vegetation. Naturally I hadn't a clue what it was, but fortunately the obsidentify app on my phone pointed me to Drinker moth caterpillar. 

Drinker Moth caterpillar

A nice selection of the usual warblers singing included Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Reed Warbler, and Cetti's Warbler. Most remained out of sight, but one Willow Warbler showed well.

Willow Warbler

I was also pleased to see a few Swifts. They seem to be scarcer than ever this year.

The highlight came as I peered up the river through the branches of the overhanging willows. A female Goosander was floating nervously, aware of my presence. This species seems to have colonised suitable rivers in the West Midlands, having previously been strictly a winter visitor. I suspect a breeding attempt was in progress but I could see no ducklings.

Goosander

The only way I could get a shot without alarming the bird was to zoom up to the maximum to eliminate the intervening leaves and stems. Unfortunately this also meant that the image was slightly out of focus (or more so than usual).

I gave the stretch of river it was on a wide berth, and don't think I disturbed the bird.

Finally, Mike Wakeman has kindly shared some of his local records stretching back to 1973, so I've added those to my History of the Circle page. Thanks mate.