We went to Cassiobury Park at Watford in Hertfordshire to see the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that had been showing well for the past few weeks. We saw a Mistle Thrush perched in the tree upon our arrival near the car park. The Male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker not only showed well on our visit but also was calling and drumming. This was a pretty good view of our first Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! Other wildlife we saw were Stock Dove, Ring-necked Parakeet & Treecreeper. We saw a pair of Green Woodpeckers which we don't see very often, but we hear them regularly. In another area of the park we a couple of Blackcaps & a Grey Heron.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker [Male]
Green Woodpecker [Male]
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker [Male]
Green Woodpecker [Male]
We popped along to Otmoor RSPB to look for Grasshopper Warblers, Cuckoo & Turtle Doves. Our first bird we saw was a Kestrel hovering. A Male Reed Bunting was singing on top of a small bush. There was another down by the feeders along with some Goldfinches. We heard a Grasshopper Warbler but sadly didn't see it. Mum & Dad heard a Cuckoo very distantly but I didn't. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was on the feeder briefly which meant I managed to see 3 species of Woodpeckers in one day. Near the feeders were Common and Lesser Whitethroats. Finally we saw House Martins, Sand Martins, Swallows & Swifts but no Turtle Doves maybe next time.
Blackcap [Male]
Reed Bunting [Male]
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker [Male]
Reed Bunting [Male]
Common Whitethroat
Lesser Whitethroat
Ring-necked Parakeet [Female]
Kestrel
April 2 2016
Slimbridge WWT 25th April 2016
We popped out Slimbridge WWT for a couple of hours. We went first to Kingfisher Hide and unfortunately we didn't any on this occasion but saw a Female Blackcap. A Sedge Warbler was perched briefly singing but didn't stay up for long because it was very windy. There was a few Marsh Marigold around the site. Loads of Cowslips down by the South Lake Hide. The 1st Summer Little Gull was still present around the lake but very mobile. On the Rushy Pen the Greylag Geese had several Goslings hatched over the past few days. By the Visitor Centre I spotted a partial leucistic Wood Pigeon. We saw Monty & Sedge the GCP Common Cranes from Martin Smith Hide. The Black-tailed Godwits were displaying from Robbie Garnett Hide. Back on the Rushy Pen we saw 2 Common Sandpipers. There was quite a few Avocets nesting in the pen.
Little Gull [1st Summer]
Blackcap [Female]
Sedge Warbler [Male]
Grey Heron
Wood Pigeon [Partial-leucistic
Common Cranes
Common Crane
Black-tailed Godwit [Summer Female]
Black-tailed Godwits
Common Sandpiper
Somerset Levels 17th April 2016
We started our visit to the Somerset Levels at Tealham Moor where a Cattle Egret had been showing well for the past few days. The Adult was in Summer Plumage and foraging around the fields. We went to Shapwick Heath and near the car park was a Willow Warbler singing. We saw our Peacock, Speckled Wood & Orange Tip Butterlies of the year. We didn't see anything on Noah's Lake so we made our way to Ham Wall RSPB. On the way we saw a Common Whitethroat singing on a gorse bush.
At Ham Wall RSPB we saw a couple of Great White Egrets fly over the Tor View Hide. We saw a very obliging Cetti's Warbler by the reserve path, normally very hard to see but easier to hear. A couple of Long-tailed Tits passed through area in a small flock. We went back to the Tor View Hide and managed to see the Male Ring-necked Duck that was still present and showing well at times.
Cattle Egret [Summer]
Peacock
Orange Tip
Willow Warbler
Ring-necked Duck [Male]
Little Egret [Summer]
Common Whitethroat [Male]
Cetti’s Warbler
Cetti’s Warbler
Chipping Sodbury Common 16th April 2016
We popped out to Chipping Sodbury in the evening to look for the Short-eared Owl. We saw it flying around and was very mobile. We also saw a Female Common Redstart briefly.
