Recent bits and bobs

I collected the SD card from the trophy cam last night and had a look through. Not much of interest but I put together a number of clips showing Red-legged and Grey Partridge which looked in really good condition and, helpfully, came right up to the camera.

Red-legged and Grey Partridge



We haven't seen a Badger since the first weekend we put the camera out. Foxes are regular visitors and happily take all the nuts we put out for the Badgers. Might be time to find another location for the camera.

This morning a walk along the river at Kempston Mill was fairly quiet although Redwings were seen regularly. Highlights were:

Skylarks were singing again and Meadow Pipits were also about. Kingfishers were heard up at Church End and seen downstream at the bottom of Hillgrounds. A group of 5 Siskins was seen up at Box End Park.There were quite a few flocks of Woodpigeons moving south, the biggest of which was 80 strong.

RSPB Titchwell 19/10/2011

We had a good day at the RSPB reserve at Titchwell. The wind was a little stronger than I would have liked but the sun stayed out most of the day with the afternoon heavy showers skirting inland around the reserve. We headed down to the beach first thing but it was generally quiet, especially compared to my trip last month. The sea was very rough and the tide was in, but a small party of Sanderlings were working the shoreline providing a good photo op.

Sanderling feeding

And a bit closer still

There were quite a few Dark-bellied Brent Geese on the reserve. They were moving between the fresh water marsh and the marsh on the east side of the main path.

Dark-bellied Brent Geese

There was also a large party of Golden Plovers roosting in front of Parrinder hide on the freshwater marsh. On several occasions during the day they all got up providing quite a spectacle.

Golden Plovers

In the afternoon we joined one of the volunteers for a guided walk around the reserve which was very informative. We came across a couple of Black-tailed Godwits having a dispute.

Touch, Pause.... 

Engage! 

A little Rugby reference there during this world cup week :-)

And finally we had good views of a male Pintail from Parrinder hide.

Pintail (m)

We also spotted a couple of parties of Pink-footed Geese passing high over the reserve during the day. Also seen/heard were Cettis Warbler, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Oystercatcher, Great Black-backed Gull, Teal, Shoveler, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Spoonbill, Little Egret, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel and many more!

Red Deer Rut at Woburn Deer Park 17/10/2011

Spent a morning at the Woburn Deer Park in the hope of catching some rutting action. We weren't disappointed as there was plenty of roaring going on up the hill towards the Paris House Restaurant. We had already passed a number of large stags, on the way up the hill, when we came across this big fellow close to the road.

Red Deer stag roaring

He didn't have any hinds and soon decided to take a rest.

Red Deer stag at rest

Red Deer Stag at rest

We spotted this guy, earlier at the bottom of the hill, nicely framed by a tree.

Having witnessed a short duel half way up the hill we came across a couple of stags with groups of hinds at the top of the hill. These guys were set back from the road a bit more and were bellowing at each other. One guy was working hard to keep his girls to himself while the other looked fairly relaxed with a slightly smaller group of girls sticking close by.

The Sika Deer stags were also letting out their "creaking door" roars which is a weird sound and must be quite scary if you are up there in the dark!   

Great fun to watch, and listen to, recommend you get up there soon to catch some of the action.

Box End Park WeBS: 16/10/2011

Tough conditions for the count this morning with fog covering most of the park. Towards the end of the session it looked like it would clear but then the breeze switched direction and blew it all back in again.

Through the gloom I managed to find the following:

Black-headed Gull 9      
Cormorant 1      
Great Crested Grebe 2      
Grey Heron 1      
Kestrel 1      
Kingfisher 1      
Mallard 41      
Meadow Pipit Present
Mute Swan 3      
Pied/White Wagtail 7
Skylark Present

Total number of species: 11 Individuals: 66  

As with the previous 2 visits a Fox was in the field at the south end of the park. I heard at least one Fieldfare passing over but didn't manage to spot it through the holes in the fog. One Skylark was spotted heading west.

Kempston Mill this morning

bedsbirds : Message: Kempston Mill this morning:

'via Blog this'

Fox catches vole

An interesting video clip from the other night on the Trophy Cam. A fox had been visiting regularly, eating the peanuts as usual, then I noticed this clip where a vole is caught out in the open by the Fox. The Fox makes short work of said vole!
Link to video - Fox catches vole

A couple more videos from the Trophy Cam

Nothing too exciting recently, mainly Foxes eating the peanuts. Did have a visit from a Muntjac which follows:

Link to Muntjac Video


Some Red-legged Partridges were also recent visitors:

Link to RLP Video