16 May 2011

It's been a quiet weekend down at the 'golden pond', best came on Saturday when Nick Smith and Phil Jones had a Hobby go through, I was there at the time and noticed all the House Martins and Swifts had gone up but sadly didn't see anything else, Canada Geese are up to 37 Goslings, the 4 Moorhen chicks are still around the boating lake, Tufted Duck numbers have increased slowly from 7 on Saturday, then 8 on Sunday and today up to 10, Great Crested Grebes remain on 4, Little Ringed Plovers have returned after a weeks absence, 3 on Sat and 2 on Sun but none today, Good numbers of House Martins and Swifts have been going through with max count of 150 House Martins and approx 50+ Swifts on Sat, a couple of male Reed Buntings were on the top pool on Sat with a single on the top of the main lake yesterday, Reed Warblers have increased to 5 and Willow Tits are feeding young around the top pool, 2 Willow Warblers remain, only a few Whitethroats are heard or seen now they have settled down to breeding and a couple of Garden Warblers are nesting, a Kestrel has been seen daily around the gas works and sewage works.

Below is a couple of photo's of what I'm told is called Grannies Bonnet which I found in the nature reserve.