Friday 8 May 2009

Botanic Gardens

All uncredited pics (c) 2009 Michael Flowers
Mistle Thrush (c) 2009 Vince Cowell
Roe Deer - new mum
Look between her legs to see the head of her fawn!
Fawn's ears a bit clearer in this one!
Bullfinch (c) 2009 Vince Cowell
Eating dandelion heads
Bullfinch
Whitethroat (c) 2009 Vince Cowell
ditto
ditto
Whitethroat
Robin - recently fledged
ditto
ditto
Record shot of Goldcrest
Moorhen
Silhouette of Cormorants
Comma
Speckled Wood
We gained permission to visit some botanical gardens today not normally open to the public. They were surveyed by the RSPB a couple of years ago, and a remarkable selection of species were recorded, so a member of the classes kindly negotiated with the relevant authorities to arrange our visit. The auspices were good when we arrived, and turned a corner, to find a male Bullfinch sitting in the open chewing the seed heads of dandelions. He stayed there for several minutes, ensuring everyone had a good view. Unfortunately, things took a downward turn from then on, as the high winds meant that few birds were willing to place their heads above the parapet. We also tried a nearby scrubby site where we did track down an obliging Whitethroat, and a female Roe Deer; which in the afternoon was seen to have a newly-born fawn. Swifts, Swallows & House Martins flew low over the hawthorns, and in the afternoon Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Willow Warbler and a whole family of recently-fledged Long-tailed Tits were added to the tally, but the wind was also having a detrimental effect here. Other classes will be also visiting the site, so it will be interesting to see if bird numbers increase in better weather.

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