It's been almost a month since I last visited the Lakes. I've not been elsewhere, I simply haven't had the time. Still, I made up for it by seeing several new birds. I'm still trailing behind Martin, but at least it made for a very nice morning out.
The main fishing like was very, very quiet, which was strange, as I expected it to be bustling with life. There were only a few Tufted Ducks swimming about and I must of saw around 3 Great Crested Grebes, far fewer than normal. Even the Coots were not massively active and I probably saw 20 in my entire time there.
A very wet Great Crested Grebe.
The bushes on the other hand were bustling with life and I saw Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Wrens, Blackbirds and Magpies. I heard some young birds, possibly Reed Warblers in the reedbeds, but it was impossible to see where they were and I certainly didn't want to disturb them.
Moving along to the back side of the main lake I saw my first Blackcaps on patch. A male and a female. Sadly they were deeply in the thicket so it was hard to get good shots. Moving along I then found several Chiffchaff and a pair of Reed Buntings, my first of the year.
The back fields were surprisingly empty with around 20 swan, 4 Canada Geese and 5 Greylag Geese.. There were a few gulls but they were far too distant to tell what they were.
Moving on to the south lake I was immediately greeted by a small group of house martins hawking for flies. I also saw my first of several swifts, although a local mentioned they'd been at the lake for a couple of weeks now.
My first Swift of the year!
Moving along the back of the lake and things quietened down again. There were a handful of Mallards, some more Chiffchaff and the odd Robin. It was relatively quiet until I got to the Jackdaws which are always in resident in one of the woods. I scanned it for Nuthatches and Treecreepers, but had no luck. There were no woodpeckers around either.
The final stretch of walk was relatively quiet, although a Buzzard showed up and paced me as I walked up, never letting me get within 50 feet of it. I spied some more Greenfinch a small flock of Greenfinch and a pair of Gadwells.
A relatively heavy crop of a Buzzard. Doesn't look too bad though.
A chat with a local dog walker produced the buzzard again, although he was now being mobbed by two Carrion Crows. There was a small group of ducks and Canada geese on the south island, but nothing of any real interest.
A pair of Canada Geese
An overcast Greenfinch. Doesn't look too bad.
Buzzard flyby.
The harassed Buzzard.
All in all a solid morning and I'm now up to 55 total birds for the patch.
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