What's happening on my local patch?

What a week it has been on my local patch. At the beginning of the week it seemed like spring had finally sprung, mornings were warm and sunny and the wildlife responded. The Fox cubs were playing on the old vicarage lawn:

He's behind you. A cub watches me while his sibling pounces on him.

Fox cub enjoying the morning sunshine.

The birds were singing strongly, including this Stock Dove, note the gorgeous iridescent green neck patch:

Stock Dove singing.

A Sedge Warbler in the Hawthorn blossom:

Sedge Warbler singing.

The last couple of days have reverted to overcast and cool mornings with the cloud clearing during the day. I came across a family party of Long-tailed Tits moving through the trees up past Church End this morning. The youngsters are really cute and their parents are working hard to keep them fed. You can't miss them, they are so noisy, continually calling to each other.

Juvenile Long-tailed Tit.

Adult Long-tailed Tit with food for the young.

I tweeted about this Common Whitethroat a week or so ago. It's song is a strange variation to the norm. Rather than the normal scratchy phrases it has pure phrases, very like a Blackcap but it retains the short, clipped phrases of the Whitethroat. It has Blackcaps stationed either side of it and when it starts to sing it often seems to set them off until they realise it sounds a bit different.  I've never heard this variation before so I recorded it on my iPod, and this morning I finally managed to get a picture of the bird in question, it has been really mobile and stays tucked away in the cover except for the occasional song flight, when it does revert to a more normal song:

Common Whitethroat

Here is the normal Common Whitethroat song for comparison:

Sunday 12th August

Had a pleasant wander along the river at Kempston Mill this morning and caught up with one of the Fox cubs at Church End. Haven't seen them since I first photographed them but this chap was out and about early on. Looked a bit wet so not sure whether it'd had an early dip in the river or had just been laying in the dewy grass. Beautiful light first thing:

Fox cub

There was a noisy Sparrowhawk family at Biddenham Loop CP. I managed to get this distant shot of one of,  at least, four birds which were calling constantly. At one point they were all in the air together but they just wouldn't come across to my side of the river to allow better images: 

Sparrowhawk

On the edge of the new build I came across a couple of young Common Whitethroats, one of which below, in an uncharacteristic environment:

  

Common Whitethroat

On the return leg along the river at Kempston this Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling from high up in a dead tree:

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Monday 26th April 2010

After an aborted walk yesterday when it chucked it down half way round I had another day off so first thing I was out again to check for last weeks Black Redstart. Weather was fine, sunny to begin with, but cloud building from the west. I thought I was in for a repeat of yesterday morning but thankfully the rain held off.

Behind the ILEX building the Sparrowhawks were present in the Willow as usual, the pair had been spotted mating yesterday.

At Kempston Mill, a Sedge Warbler was singing in the reed bed, but no sign of the Reed Warbler that was there yesterday. I took the route along the back channel between the 2 hedge lines looking for newly arrived warblers but there was little of note other than the regularly spaced Sedge Warblers along the back channel. I'd heard a Grasshopper Warbler reeling along there yesterday but no sign today. Up ahead at the spinney I noticed a raptor interacting with some Crows, this turned out to be a Common Buzzard, probably one of the Box End Park pair.

The island Swan nest was empty again and no sign of either adult, looks like it has been abandoned, especially as both adults were seen away from the nest yesterday during the heavy rain.

There were at least 4 Common Terns over Box End Park, difficult to tell exactly as they were very mobile, chasing noisily around the park and up and down the river. No Hirundines over the lake, unlike yesterday, in the heavy rain when there were many Martins and Swallows over the north lake.

A Lesser Whitethroat was singing at the south entrance to Biddenham Loop CP, several more Sedge Warblers along the river and Common Whitethroats along the roadside hedgeline in BLCP. Along the back of the houses by the golf course a couple of Willow Warblers were singing and a pair of Common Whitethroats were nest building in a patch of brambles.

Plenty of Skylarks along the edge of the golf course and in the fields between Great Denham and Kempston Mill, along with a few Meadow Pipits. As I came to the end of the track across the fields the alrma call of a pair of Long Tailed Tits in the hedge drew my attention. I stood quite close watching them and trying to see what they were getting upset about. Then as I photograped them a brown streak shot across the view finder. I lifted my head to see a Stoat disappear into the hedge. I followed the direction and spotted it again as it stood looking back at me for a split second before it continued on its way.

Little else of note although a fine morning anyway. Looks like last weeks Black Redstart was passing through as there was no sign yesterday or today.