Rod's Birding: June 2015

Wednesday 24 June 2015

An early morning at Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 24, 2015

The trap was out again last night and seventy-three moths covering thirty species were trapped and identified, which included five new for the year.

The following were recorded: Ghost Moth [1]; Light Brown Apple Moth [6]; Celypha striana [1]; Notocelia trimaculana [4]; Eudonia mercurella [2]; Crambus pascuella [2]; Eyed Hawkmoth [1]; Riband Wave [1]; Freyer's Pug [2]; Common Pug [1]; Brimstone Moth [1]; Scalloped Hazel [1]; Light Emerald [1]; Straw Dot [2]; Buff Ermine [3]; The Spectacle [1]; Golden Plusia [1]; Silver Y [1]; The Miller [1]; The Uncertain [1]; Brown Rustic [1]; Large Nutmeg [1]; Rustic Shoulder-knot [4]; Dark Arches [1]; Marbled Minor Group [1]; Bright-line Brown-eye [1]; Common Wainscot [1]; Heart and Dart [26]; Small Square-spot [2] and Large Yellow Underwing [1].

Golden Plusia

The Miller

Large Nutmeg

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - June 23, 2015

I called at Eyebrook Reservoir on route to Rutland Water where I had three Shelduck, two of which were escorting seven young. A single Little Egret was observed and I saw at least three Common Terns but couldn’t see any of the young on the rafts.

After parking in the Egleton car park I set off to Snipe hide on the Wet Meadow seeing a male and young Great Spotted Woodpecker close to the Bird Watching Centre. Just after coming out of the wooded area alongside lagoon one I had views of a Garden Warbler but saw little else before I reached Snipe hide. With just a single Shelduck of note on the flash I soon moved on to harrier hide. There was a single Avocet feeding but I couldn’t see either the second bird or the young. I then heard an Avocet call and saw the second bird mobbing a Black-headed Gull and shortly afterwards the three young appeared on the island.

Woodpigeon from harrier hide

I had seen two Redshanks as I walked alongside lagoon six before going to harrier hide and on calling at tern hide on lagoon six they were still present. They had been quite vocal as I went by lagoon six and were still calling and flying repeatedly when I first entered tern hide. They then both landed on at the far end of the island in front of the hide and then moved to the next island, whilst continuing to call. Two chicks then appeared on the end of the first island and swam across the water between the islands to join the adults. There were a couple of Black-headed Gulls they passed, which didn’t show any interest but they finished up passing either side of one of them and the adult nearest appeared confused as to what to do. Both of the adults then walked away from the gulls and one chick followed them almost on the shoreline and then I saw the second doing the same but a little deeper in the vegetation. There were also three Oystercatchers and a Mute Swan with four young on the lagoon.

As I continued on towards Shelduck hide on lagoon five there was a Whitethroat in the hedge alongside lagoon eight where the Mute Swan was escorting eight cygnets, one having disappeared, and three more Oystercatchers.

I viewed lagoon seven from the ramp to Shelduck hide but all I could find were a pair of Shelduck escorting a single duckling. All I could see of note from Shelduck hide was a pair of Oystercatcher. As I walked back towards the 360 hide I saw a couple of Chiffchaff feeding towards the end of the hedgerow and from the 360 hide there was still at least four Common Terns and a Great Crested Grebe with two striped young.

Great Crested Grebe with young

As I walked back in the direction of snipe hide I saw a second Whitethroat and a Red Kite passed overhead. There were two Sedge Warblers as I walked back towards the cycle track but very little else before I was back at the centre.

Goldfinch near the 360 hide

From the centre I viewed lagoon one where there were plenty of wildfowl and Coot but the only things of note was a Great Crested Grebe escorting a single young bird and a Little Egret flying over.

Whilst having lunch Mike Chester and Brian Moore arrived and after a chat regarding Brian’s successful trip for the Cretzchmar’s Bunting on Bardsey I went to Shoveler hide on lagoon three with Mike, where we were soon joined by Brian. There was a Black-tailed Godwit feeding in the shallows to the left of the hide and a Green Sandpiper was on the island directly in front of the hide. There was also a couple of Oystercatchers that flew off on to lagoon four and I picked up three Curlews as they flew in from the east and appeared to drop on to lagoon four. Mike left but Brian and I stayed quite some time, despite being invaded by a party of school children.

There were up to twenty-eight terns feeding over the water and we had distant views of Red Kite and several Buzzards and a Hobby was a little more obliging coming quite close on one occasions. Reed Warblers were constantly on view just in front of the hide and one allowed me to get pretty nice shots.

Grey Heron on lagoon three

Little Egret over lagoon three

Reed Warbler

We did eventually leave the hide and met Erik as we did who had just come from sandpiper hide on lagoon four. He decided to come back with us and we found an Oystercatcher escorting the now well grown young bird, three Little Ringed Plovers, eleven Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin. Erik then found an adult Mediterranean Gull on island ten spit and so I phoned both Steve and Terry who were now back on site after visiting Frampton. Terry arrived in plenty of time to see the bird but Steve saw it from the ramp to the hide as it flew off to the south. Another Curlew then came in but there was no sign of the three seen earlier.

Mediterranean Gull over lagoon four

We then had an invitation to visit the new Volunteer’s Training Centre and Sarah gave us an escorted tour. The views from the viewing gallery of lagoon four without any natural barriers gave a totally different perspective and its immense size was realised for the first time.

We were talking to Lloyd as we were departing when Osprey 51 passed overhead with a rather large fish with the head already eaten.

Osprey 51

An early morning at Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 22, 2015

A cooler night last night and only thirty-seven moths were trapped and identified, three of which were new for the year.

The following were recorded: Light Brown Apple Moth [1]; Celypha striana [2]; Eudonia mercurella [1]; Crambus pascuella [2]; Elephant Hawkmoth [1]; Lime-speck Pug [1]; Freyer's Pug [1]; Scorched Wing [1]; Peppered Moth [1]; Willow Beauty [1]; Clouded Silver [1]; Straw Dot [1]; Buff Ermine [2]; Uncertain [1]; Rustic Shoulder-knot [1]; Marbled Minor Group [2]; Bright-line Brown-eye [1]; Common Wainscot [1]; Shoulder-striped Wainscot [1]; Heart and Dart [12]; Flame [1] and Large Yellow Underwing.

Clouded Silver

An early morning at Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 21, 2015

The moth trap was out again last night and sixty-two moths of twenty-nine species were trapped and identified, twelve of which were new for the year.

The following were recorded: Light Brown Apple Moth [2]; Celypha striana [1]; Bee Moth [1]; Eudonia mercurella [1]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [1]; Crambus pascuella [1]; Pebble Hook-tip [1]; Figure of Eighty [1]; Green Pug [3]; Lime-speck Pug [2]; Freyer's Pug [1]; Common Pug [1]; Mottled Pug [1]; Scorched Wing [1]; Brimstone Moth [3]; Peppered Moth [2]; Willow Beauty [4]; Light Emerald [1]; Straw Dot [3]; Common Footman [1]; Silver Y [1]; Rustic [1]; Large Nutmeg [1]; Dark Arches [1]; Bright-line Brown-eye [1]; Common Wainscot [1]; Heart and Dart [26]; Flame Shoulder [1] and Small Square-spot [1].

Eudonia mercurella

Pebble Hook-tip

Figure of Eighty

Freyer's Pug

Common Pug

Mottled Pug

Scorched Wing

Light Emerald

Common Wainscot

Small Square-spot

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - June 20, 2015

I was out with Roger today and we went to Eyebrook Reservoir seeing a Green Woodpecker near Kibworth on route. We approached the reservoir from the southern end seeing a Little Egret, an Osprey and three Whitethroats before we reached the island coral. From the coral we saw a single Little Ringed Plover but otherwise it was pretty quiet. We continued along the Leicestershire side of the reservoir seeing another Whitethroat before we reached the bridge where we saw a Willow Warbler and a Red Kite. Although the water level is superb for waders Lapwing was only wader we saw and other than four Common Terns and the young on the raft there was little else. As we scanned the area the Lapwings and a few Black-headed Gulls all got up and we picked up a Sparrowhawk flying low along the Leicestershire bank. A little further along towards Stoke Dry we noticed pair of Shelduck, which must have had young, attacking a Mallard duckling and driving it into the grasses. When the Shelduck backed off the Mallard was attached by a Carrion Crow and so I clapped my hands, which had the desired effect and the crow flew off. The Mallard then stood but immediately fell over again as if its legs weren’t responding. However its legs appeared ok and it did eventually get back to the water and joined another duckling and they both swam out into the middle to join a female with presumably the rest of the brood.

We eventually moved on to the north arm at Rutland Water where we found a Goldeneye and three Oystercatchers flew over but as it started to rain we quickly went back to the car and drove to the Egleton car park. We went in to the centre for a while to check out lagoon one but other then three Wigeon, a pair of Oystercatcher with a single young bird and an adult Yellow-legged Gull we saw very little else and moved on to the northern lagoons.

As we approached the ramp to sandpiper hide on lagoon four we stopped and had a chat with Frank and Stuart and whilst doing so a Green Woodpecker flew over the path and a Kestrel was observed to the west. As we approached Shoveler hide on lagoon three Roger noticed a bird perched on the corner of the hide, which turned out to be a Green Sandpiper. There were four very noisy Oystercatchers feeding just in front of the hide and the pair of Shelduck was still escorting the three young birds. A Green Sandpiper then flew in, which was probably the bird off the hide roof, and began feeding alongside one of the exposed islands. A Little Egret was then observed flying, which disturbed a second bird from a ditch to the left of the hide and both birds then disappeared into the ditch. There were at least ten Reed Warblers seen just around the hide and a Kingfisher that flashed across heading towards lagoon two was my first sighting here this year.

From sandpiper hide on lagoon four we found two more Oystercatchers escorting a now well grown young, a Little Ringed Plover, a Ringed Plover, an adult and a second-summer Yellow-legged Gull and two Yellow Wagtails.

We got back to the car for lunch, which was prolonged slightly due to a heavy shower, before we moved off to harrier hide. The rain was fairly light as we walked around to the hide, seeing female and juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker at the feeding station and a Sedge Warbler before we reached the hide. Once in the hide it started to rain heavy again and although both Avocets were present there was no sign of the reported young bird and presumably the female was brooding it. As we scanned the small flash I found a Redshank with two tiny young feeding along the edge and as the rain eased the Avocet stood up and revealed two chicks. As these moved away from her see sat down again and was presumably still sitting on one or more eggs. We called at Snipe hide on the way back where we had distant views of an Osprey and a couple of Hobbies.

On reaching the centre we had one more scan of lagoon one seeing nothing new before heading off home. We had seen seventy-eight species of bird but not surprisingly fewer insects today with just a Small Tortoiseshell, four Speckled Woods, ten Azure Damselflies and a single Blue-tailed Damselfly.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland Jun 19, 2017

I was out with David today and our plan was to go to Ketton as he was hoping to see a Hornet Moth. As Eyebrook Reservoir was basically on route we called there first seeing a Great Spotted Woodpecker as we stopped to look, unsuccessfully for a Little Owl. At the reservoir there were good numbers of Swift, Swallow and House Martin over the water and we did find a single Sand Martin amongst them. There were four Common Terns and three young terns on each of the pontoons. Two Egyptian Geese were unusual visitors but other than hearing a Willow Warbler and Blackcap near the bridge there was little else and so we moved on to Ketton.

There was a Red Kite over Glaston on route to Ketton but on arrival the weather was not in favour of seeing Hornet Moths as it was overcast and fairly windy, although it wasn’t cold. We parked alongside the poplar trees that the moths favour and I found a couple on the first tree I looked at, but they were the only ones. With our target safely in the bag we moved to the parking area near the reserve entrance and spent a couple of hours on site. There were over twenty spikes of Bee Orchids just through the gate onto the reserve and we found another along the valley where there were also so plenty of Spotted Orchids and a smaller number of Twayblade. A party of birds were clearly mobbing something inside the wood and as we were searching I saw a Tawny Owl fly across the valley followed shortly afterwards by a Jay. We also found a couple of Chrysoteuchia culmella and a Common Carpet and as the weather seemed to be improving we entered the barbeque area where we found a Large Skipper and perhaps more surprisingly a Green Hairstreak.

Bee Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid

Common Twayblade

Large Skipper

Green Hairstreak

With some intermittent sun we decided to go further and into the quarry area where we found three Marbled Whites, a Small Heath and a Burnet Companion.

Six-spot Burnet caterpillar

Marbled White

Before leaving we scanned the cement works from both sides in the hope of finding a Peregrine but there was no sign and so we continued on to Rutland Water. A Red Kite was observed over the A606 before we reached Empingham and a Hobby was observed over Burley Wood from the north arm at Rutland Water. With little else we went to the Egleton car park where we had lunch.

After lunch we made our way to the northern lagoons visiting Shoveler hide on lagoon three first. There were two Green Sandpipers and two Shelduck were escorting three young. There were fewer Teal today with just six being seen but there were ten Pochard on the lagoon. At one point there appeared to be quite some disturbance over lagoon four and then on lagoon three and David then picked up a juvenile Peregrine amongst a party of Lapwing.

From sandpiper hide on lagoon four we found four Oystercatchers, two of which were escorting a single young bird, a Little Ringed Plover, a Ringed Plover, a Curlew and an adult and two second-summer Yellow-legged Gulls. We also had at least two Red Kites, two Buzzards and two Ospreys over Burley.

Female Kestrel from sandpiper hide

With still some time before we needed to leave we went to harrier hide to check on the breeding Avocets. When we arrived both birds were present with the female still sitting and the behaviour of a couple of Redshanks suggested that they may have young but we were unable to locate any. An Osprey flew in over the lagoon and provided some nice views as it hovered looking for fish and a second Hobby was observed.

Osprey over lagoon one

Despite the weather not being great until late in the day we recorded eighty species of bird, six species of butterfly, three damselflies and six moths. With Marbled White, Hornet Moth, Chrysoteuchia culmell and Burnet Companion at Ketton and Emerald and Blue-tailed Damselflies and Nemophora degeerella and Chimney Sweeper at Rutland Water all being new for the year.

Nemophora degeerella

Thursday 18 June 2015

An early morning at Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 17, 2015

The moth trap was out again last night, which resulted in the best catch so far with sixty-nine trapped of thirty-one species. The catch also included two new ones, a micro Argyresthia brockeella and a macro Marbled White Spot.

The following were trapped: Common Swift [1]; Ghost Moth [1]; Argyresthia brockeella [1]; Brown House-moth [1]; Light Brown Apple Moth [11]; Bee Moth [1]; Eudonia mercurella [2]; Eyed Hawkmoth [1]; Elephant Hawkmoth [4]; Riband Wave [2]; Silver Ground Carpet [1]; Common Marbled Carpet [1]; Green Pug [1]; Common Pug [2]; Mottled Pug [4]; Brimstone Moth [1]; Scalloped Hazel [2]; Peppered Moth [2]; Willow Beauty [1]; Pebble Prominent [1]; The Snout [1]; Buff Ermine [4]; Marbled White Spot [1]; Large Nutmeg [1]; Rustic Shoulder-knot [1]; Marbled Minor species [2]; Nutmeg [2]; Bright-line Brown-eye [1]; Heart and Dart [13]; Flame [1] and Green Silver-lines [1].