Tuesday 10 May 2011

Heron Today, Gone Tomorrow

Juvenile Heron

Adult Heron
Heron Nest

Mute Swan

Red-legged Partridge

ditto

ditto

Record shot of Swallow

Wall Brown

Underside of Wall Brown

Brimstone

Green-veined White

Moorhen Eggs

'Swarm' of Tadpoles

By special arrangement today we visited our local heronry. A few Whitethroats, and Sedge Warblers dotted the chalk stream, as they did last year. However, not a single Lesser Whitethroat was encountered this time round, and 3 Brown Trout were only glimpsed briefly in the afternoon. A pair of Gadwall were flushed from different water-filled ditches during both sessions, but the Partridges and Linnets were harder to see this year. The young herons are quite well-grown and will abandon their nests fairly soon. Last year we managed to discover some Yellow Wagtails in early May, but there was no sign of these today. Instead, one of the new recruits spotted a Water Vole, and 2 Grass Snakes were discovered basking on a stone bridge a few feet above masses of a potential food source. The ditch was swarming with dozens of tadpoles. As it's an organic farm there were plenty of insects on show, including Red Admoral, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone, green-Veined Whites, wall Browns, and the obligatory Orange-Tips! A very interesting day, especially for those who haven't visited this site before.

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