Birds settling down for Winter

Posted on 5th November 2017 by Richard

Dungeness and Conningbrook

Late October and early November is a great time for spotting the smaller birds; the leaves are almost off the trees making things more visible and most of our feathered friends are now returning to their favourite Winter residences.

Stonechat

A trip down to the area around Dungeness Old Lighthouse produced the ever present Pied Wagtails on the Nuclear Power Station wall and in amongst the Gorse were the usual Robins, Starlings, Dunnocks and Meadow Pipits.

Meadow Pipit

Over the fields from here to Conningbrook showed some nice views of the Stonechats on North Field and on the fence posts beside the Great Stour, as indeed the Goldfinches did as well all be it they were only there for a couple of days before moving on.

Pied Wagtail – Goldfinches

As always, the unexpected seems to happen when I return home, a few days ago it was a Sparrowhawk and today, a Reed Bunting in the bushes of the front garden.
Garden wise we’re getting a lot of Long Tailed Tits who in a pack of around a dozen, flip along the trees before going on their way somewhere else. The Feeders have produced one Goldfinch and the Greater Spotted Woodp[ecker is back feeding at least three times a day.

Male Reed Warbler

It’s about now the Fieldfares along with Redwings return to the fields here. The challenge will be taking a photograph of them, they have a habit of wanting to be two trees ahead of you all the time !!

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A walk from Conningbrook to Home

Posted on 18th September 2017 by Richard

When fully fit and motivated I can walk from home to the furthest lake at Conningbrook and back with no problem, a distance of some 5 miles.
On Saturday I was lucky enough to get a lift to the Julie Rose Stadium where I did the one way route alongside main, eco and northern Lakes then over the fields next to the Great Stour and home.

Some Fungi in a small copse close to home

Due to some Canoeists on the main lake, beside a group of nine Egyptian Geese and some Coots, it was very quiet, as were both the Eco and Northern Lakes.
No small birds visible but the northern field came to the rescue with a Great Spotted Woodpecker sitting on the tallest twig of a tree and about 50 plus Starlings.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker – Yellowhammer

Alongside the Great Stour some 30 Swallows were active weaving and skimming the water and surrounding fields…and me ! Some coming within six feet. Taking a photo was an impossibility !

The best sighting of the day though was in the hedgerows of the fields just below my house, some 20 plus Yellowhammers, easily the most I’ve seen at any one time in the 18 years I’ve been here.
Being of res status,, very encouraging indeed.

The Nuthatch saw me coming!!

Eastwell Lake

Needing to go down town on Sunday I made a detour on my return journey to Eastwell Lake. Here well over 300 Greylag and Canada Geese all mixing in.
Beside some Mallards, just a parent and juvenile Great Crested Grebe spotted.

Mother-and-juvenile-Great-Crested-Grebes

Parent and juvenile Great Crested Grebe

No shortage of Geese!

As usual, the Graveyard produced some Nuthatches but little else about.

Tomorrow I’m off to Godmersham for the Launch of the Stour Project, for which I have volunteered as a River Warden.
The river being just a few hundred meters away, this will be a joy to do and I’m sure I will be learning a lot more.
News to follow!
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Grey Wagtails back, Reptiles doing well

Posted on 21st August 2017 by Richard

Once again I’ve been confined to barracks over the last five days, but on the theory that nature and wildlife is not about four seasons but 365 days a year, I’m still spotting changes every time I walk up the Garden.

Grey Wagtails

Every year is the same with these fascinating birds, they show a face down the Lane in mid Spring, then return for a few weeks mid-August.
This is quite interesting as on the RSPB Grey Wagtail page, we’re just about borderline for Resident and Winter. I can only guess it’s a kind of mini migratory thing.

Reptiles around the Garden

The Slow Worms are continuing to thrive and another younger Grass Snake than last time appeared under the Rubber Mats.

About 12 weeks ago, the young lads over the Lane presented me with a jam jar with 5 Newts they’d found in a nearby Pond inside, their Mum thought it best to pass them on to me, so I put them in my little Pond.
That was the last I saw of them, but just in the last two days I’ve noticed two youngsters, so all did end well!
Obviously, their Predators being Grass Snakes, large Birds, Hedgehogs, Cats and Foxes, they’ll need to be on their guard!

Down the Lane

First rather exciting event was spotting an Argus Brown Butterfly, I can’t recall seeing one down here before.

Grass Snake – Young wild Trout

The other nice thing was to see a young Wild Trout in the Stream. Over the years quite a number have been born and precious few survive the odd visit from a Little Egret or Grey Heron. However, there are about 4 of reasonable size.

Egyptian Geese

Before being confined to my home and garden I did manage a short walk to the main Lake at Conningbrook, with the only thing more out of the ordinary were three Egyptian Geese

Egyptian Goose

It seems more and more of these birds are appearing around here and Dungeness has seen some breeding on the Islands.There’s a bit of controversy with these birdswith most Birders seeing them as a nuisance.
I think it’s a little like Parakeets, as much as they may be seen as ‘invasive’, they’re here to stay!
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Mid August bubbling with Wildlife

Posted on 16th August 2017 by Richard

In the Garden

I thought I’d spoken about the Grass Snake, but looking back it appears not, so here’s a photo of it sitting under one of the Rubber Mats I have in the long grass

Grass Snake

I thought most birds around and about here had now all fledged, but upon hearing a few quiet tweets from the Laurel Bush was pleased to see what appears to be a juvenile Chiffchaff. I say ‘appears to be’ because, apart from the dark legs, has the characteristics and colour of a Willow Warbler !

Young Chiffchaff

Between the Lane and the Great Stour

Although there is a very apparent lack of birds at present (they’re all in my Garden I think) Dragon Flies and Damselflies are plentiful

Migrant Hawker

Conningbrook

I’ve only been able to make it to the Eco and Northern Lake but it’s been well worth the walk.
The Herons nesting on the Eco Lake have sprung a nice young one to the surroundings and seem to be mixing OK with the Little Egrets.

Four Spotted Chaser – Leveret

Two Herons ready to roost and Young Heron in Fields

The walk from Blackwell Farm to the Great Stour produced a Leveret hurrying around the path and into the overgrowth whilst above, the Swallows are still very active almost skimming the corn tops as they hurry about looking for an evening meal.

Great Stour between Conningbrook and Wye

With the forecast looking reasonably good for a few days to come and me being a fairweather birder, I hope to get back to the North Kent Coast shortly, probably Oare Marshes, always a great spot for Waders and more.
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Spotted Flycatchers Fledged

Posted on 31st July 2017 by Richard

Spotted Flycatcher

Great news to close off July is that at least two of the Spotted Flycatchers have fledged.
I say this as the Parents are still taking food into the nest, the two which have fledged are ‘talking’ to each other, one of either side of the Lane.

Our resident Fox

Her four Cubs must be around the 4 / 5 month old mark now (Video to follow shortly) although she is still taking some of the food away with her so I presume they’re still about.

Her poorly back leg still gives her a bit of jip now and again, for that reason we still feed her a bit which hopefully has taken the strain off her searching for food for the Cubs.
Saying that I notice there are a few Hazelnuts and pips in the poos scattered her and there so I hope the Cubs are now well enough trained to survive on their own when and if they have to.

A short trip to Conningbrook Lakes

Normally I will walk from my home over the fields and along the Great Stour to Conningbrook Lakes, but not quite up to that yet, so it was nice that someone said they’d come with me if I drove to the far side where there’s a shorter walk to the Eco and Northern Lakes.

Besides a good selection of Buterflies and Damselflies, there wasn’t much about but two pf three Herons put on a good display and it was nice just to get out for once, I normally go there twice a week, I haven’t been at all for eight !

August is upon us and time gets nearer and nearer to weather change and migration. Summer is great of course, but you can’t see the birds you hear and coastal climes are pretty thin.
Late Summer though brings about deepening colour, heavier leaf with many changes taking place. I always think it’s not about 4 seasons, it’s about 365 days, every day something new happens, something stops and something turns up.
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Egyptian Goose at Conningbrook

Posted on 21st February 2017 by Richard

Another nice surprise

Conningbrook Lakes is definitely coming up with a few surprises at present, in the last few weeks I’ve seen a Goldcrest close up, a Bittern and now Egyptian Geese.

Fair enough they’re not endangered, not are they ‘official’ but the fact remains that up to a few years ago they were only seen in Norfolk, but now for whatever reason they’re being spotted more and more in the Home Counties.

Once again it had been a walk over the fields and eagerly anticipating something on the Eco and main Lakes, it wasn’t until I got back to the Northern Lake did I get today’s nice surprise.

I was actually standing quite still with eyes peeled to see if I could catch the Bittern in full view when I heard the sounds of heavy wings flying overhead.
I knew what they were straight away as someone else had spotted them on the nearby fields some weeks ago. There were three of them.

As always, a rear view shot, but in some ways better because it shows their feathers and assortment of colours up quite well.

Other than that it as all quiet on the western front. A couple of Stonechats were resting on the telegraph cables next to the railway line and a Wren was doing a Monty Python silly walk along the barbed wire barrier fence.

Every day produces something.
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Bittern on North Lake Conningbrook

Posted on 17th February 2017 by Richard

Right place, right time!

The more I get into birdwatching, the more I find it’s often a case of being in the right place at the right time.
Today was no exception.
A long walk over the fields to Conningbrook, after two hours, produced nothing, then just as I was leaving North Lake for home I was awakened by a splashing sound in the reeds behind me…..A Bittern !!

I’d read a few people had seen one around and about, last year I saw one flying on main lake, but as usual only noticed it after it had flown past enabling me a distant rear view shot.
I was lucky enough to get a sideways shot of one flying past from the Island Mere Hide at Minsmere last October, so getting today’s, all be it a brief glimpse was quite a eurika moment.

Last Spring I heard one booming in Dungeness and followed the sound for quite some while but the sound semed no closer the further I went.
It appears their tone and volume can sound as if they’re they’re a couple of hundred meters away, but they are in fact about two miles away!

The Kestrel looking for Lunch

Walking back accross the fields nothing much about other than about 50+ Fieldfares, a Kestrel, Skylarks noisily hovering over their designed nesting areas above the young crops, many Longed Tailed Tits and some 70 heavily pregnant Sheep in the second field down.

With Spring just around the corner everything seems to be getting into place, the bird song in the Garden has switched up a couple of notches, so all’s well.
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Birdsong in the Garden again

Posted on 3rd February 2017 by Richard

Birdsong around the Feeders

It was as if the Birds around here knew it was February, the end of Winter is nigh and in the garden we have birdsong and much activity. Already the Blackbirds are pretty frisky and busy flirting with each other in combat style all over the place !

Blue Tit

With rain expected within a couple of hours of getting up I decided not to go out anywhere but just put a chair in the Lan-To and watch out for what came along.
Needless to say nothing special did, but I was entertained for a good hour by our regular visitors such as the Tit family, Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Dunnocks, Collared Doves, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Wrens, the sound of an unseen Chiffchaff and a quick glimpse of a female Chaffinch.

Great Tit

It’s when you find time to actually observe rather than seeing something, taking a photo and moving on that you notice more the characters and personalities of them.
It seems to me that Robins aren’t always fighting claiming their territories, I’ve seen as many as six quite happily mixing together. I guess I put enough out for everyone!

With the Tit family it would appear to be the Great Tit at the top of the pecking order and Coal Tits at the bottom. Many a time I’ve seen a poor little Coal Tit trying to get as much food in the mouth before a Blue or Great Tit comes and pushes it off.

Male House Sparrow – Coal Tit – Great Spotted Woodpecker

Dunnocks are all pretty much ‘street cred’, they seem to never care what else is about and if they can’t get space on the Feeders they’re quite happy to forage around below for all the bits and pieces.

An hour just watching is a delight.

Great White and Little Egret at Conningbrook

Little and Great White Egret

I did venture out for an hour, a quick drive around to Conningbrook Lakes to see what was happening.
Luckily it seemed I was about the first person there as the Great White and a Little Egret were in a good position on the main Lake.

As it happened, nothing much else was around, 70 or so Greylags with a few Canada’s mixed in plus the usual Gadwalls, Tufted Ducks, Coots, Shovelers and Great Crested Grebes.
But they were all sufficient for a good few hours, especially the wonderful sound of birdsong.

Winter kicks in at Conningbrook Lakes

Posted on 26th January 2017 by Richard

After a relatively mild December and early January Winter finally kicked in and has given us to date more than a week where temperatures have only just got above freezing during the day and downwards to Minus 7c at night !

Conningbrook Lake

Luckily I got a lift to the main entrance which enabled me a one way walk home around the Lakes and over the fields.
The lakes were 90% frozen over with just a little area of open water on the east side where a congregation of Swans, Canada Geese, some Shovelers, Gadwalls, Tufted Ducks and Mallards took shelter. Oh., plus the countless number of Coots needless to say!

Goldcrest

Keeping an eye on me !

The trees around the Lake, especially between the main lake and Eco Lake were well occupied by Goldfinches, Long Tailed Tits and Chaffinches busying themselves in a short spell of misty sunlight.
The Eco Lake was bare with not even a mandatory Little Egret or Heron to be seen. Apparently the Great White Egret was about but the fog over most of the area didn’t give a view of more than 50 meters or so.

Cold birds stick together ! – The Song Thrush foraging the field

However, the area around the North Lake was quite bright. In the trees next to the Great Stour I thought I saw a Wren flitting about the branches. Upon a closer look I realised it was a Goldcrest acrobatically digging whatever he or she could from the bark of various branches.
I have to say I find these birds a real delight, the smallest European bird and weighing just under the weight of a 10p coin.

Back over the Fields

The walk back over the fields didn’t produce much although I disturbed two Common Snipe who needless to say rushed out and flew off with great speed not allowing me to get a photograph.

It was only when I got near to home a few birds appeared; a Song Thrush in the field, a Wren on the Stream bank and a few Lapwings in the field.
It seemed the greatest number of birds about were actually in my Garden!

I’m off to Southampton at the end of the week so will try to take a few hours out and visit two of my favourite spots at Warsash and Hook, both where the Hamble River enters Southampton Water. Maybe an Owl, you never know !

Wildlife Diary

Recording wild life through the year around Hampshire, Kent and elsewhere

Tag Archives: Conningbrook