BIRD NEWS:342 & Black cap info

After my coffee, I began my usual clockwise circle of the reserve. I had now been a WWT member for one week short of a year, so long time readers may recognize this familiar family group of geese from last year as their new breeding season brings forth youngsters - again.

Here are the Bewick swans. As last year, a nest is being attended to. Hopefully, unlike 2016, 2017 may bring forth hatched eggs. Next, an information board.

There is something taking flight to the right hand side of the above photo - also seen below. I am assuming it is a lapwing. The bird kept swooping about a little too fast to get a decent shot on a regular camera, but just slow enough to get a few average photos.

The black headed gulls are busy at their nesting. Some have young already - while this one shown in flight was gathering nesting material then diving down and putting it into a nest.

Oh look - more baby geese! They were everywhere on today's trip. Mostly Greylag geese, but a few Nenes were also in 'hiss-mode'.

Finally, HERE is an article about the black cap - which we sometimes see in our yard during winter and heard at the wetlands reserve in June.

BIRD NEWS:341

Flowers are not as important as food to a teenage pigeon - although this one was standing there staring at them before munching seed. Around the garden there are currently - early May - several other youngsters. We have sparrows for example - as depicted in my next few photos.

Here we see mother bird feeding a pair of youngsters in my tree. Like the starlings in the previous 2-3 years, the sparrows have learned to park their young in the tree branches, go to the feeder for food, fly back and feed them. Eventually, a youngster cottons on - parents get that yummy stuff from some place around here......

...alas, they are as yet not understanding how it gets from pole to parent to beak! Maybe tomorrow...and the next day the youngster will grab a few extra bites while waiting!

This shot may alert regular readers to the fact that I made another excursion to Arundel. The familiar WWT americano mug with a lake beyond did indeed mean such a trip was taken - on the penultimate weekend in May. There, beyond the coffee, were the eider ducks as usual - although on this occasion they were hanging about the bank rather than swimming around. This is probably because of nesting and young emerging.

On the waters were a selection of other ducks however - including this group of red and blue billed ones.

BIRD NEWS:340

One last picture from my late April Arundel excursion - showing a lone eider swimming about in the cafe-side lake. Back home, Bubster Pidge was on the windowsill, not bothering to fly away when I went to smell my birthday flowers!

The young pigeon I recently encountered has a sibling. I have begun to spot both together at times around the yard, such as depicted above on the fence next door - and here is one teenager learning about the stone bird bath.

It was not long of course before the thought of food came across the youthful pair. Several of the larger birds, such as jackdaws and one silly or lazy starling, have learned to stand on the feeder pole perch and bite at the suet balls. Here we see a young pigeon attempt to copy the feasting activity....firstly, landing back to front, then awkwardly turning around. I am pleased to report that after a few misses, it began to sucessfully get a few beak nibbles.

BIRD NEWS:339

Yet another family of geese confronted me as I made my way further towards the cafe and exit. I soon progressed to the last 2-3 lakes and took a few last photos before leaving the wetlands center and heading homewards.

The info board will remind regular readers of the species if you have forgotten, and instruct new readers as to the identification of this duck. Next up, one of the feeding stations - this one frequented by mallards and jackdaws, mostly.

This little robin seemed quite tame - and just as interested in me as I was in him. It just stood there on the fence, watching me - and my camera - as I strolled past, stopping briefly to take the photo.

Another feeding station - and this one had pigeons parading around nearby. I was almost back to the cafe - where lunch and coffee had begun this birthday trip of mine. I might have stayed longer - though I had been there 2 hours already - but I had a broken watch strap and wanted to stop off at a small town on my way home to get a new strap put on - before the shops shut.

BIRD NEWS:338

Onwards I walked and came across a pheasant perusing the sunnier side of the undergrowth. it may also have been looking across at its mate - as there was movement in the grasses beyond.

I rounded the reed beds and woodland hide, with little new to my camera - but spotted the moorhen back on the nest nearby. I could not see close enough - but it looked like it was attending either a youngster or an egg.

Further along, there was another moorhen with chicks this time - little fluffy black things with tiny little wings, awwwwwww.

They seemed to be able to swim, toddle along, squish through the mud, and keep up with the parent bird fairly well for their size and shape, however.

BIRD NEWS:337

One last shot of the heron, before I left the hide and made my way towards the boat jetty. I thought I would go on the boat trip again this time. This next shot was taken of a tufted duck that we passed on the ride - with partner who escaped the shot.

Next, I passed the Bewick swans enclosure to investigate upon their potential nesting behaviours. Well - that one was sitting down, but it did not look like it was upon a nest. The other one...

...was by a fence preening, being observed by geese. I had more luck at the Trumpeter swan enclosure - there was a nest!

It was right where they had built their successful nest last year, too - on the small islet in the lake. On this trip, whilst on the boat, we spotted a sedge warbler. Further along upon my trek around the center, I spotted another - I took a couple of shots - but there was only one that actually came out clear enough to tell it was a bird! If you cannot see it - it is dead center of the photo.

BIRD NEWS:336

Leaving these cute chicks at the boat trip area, I did not travel far before another goose family were encountered - plodding along on the path I was trying to go along.

You may note that although the goslings look similar, the adults are different species of goose. Here they go - finally plodding off, letting me get past and go into the hide!

They were not far away when I turned round to see where they had gone to...but nibbling on the path side.

I arrived in the hide and what caught my eye was a heron - its head and neck visible amidst the grasses.

Back home and the news from the back yard at the close of the month was that the jay who likes peanuts has popped back to visit a couple of times. The blackbirds, sparrows and starlings all come and go with several young. I have spotted Ditty and partner dove in the trees at the rear of the yard, and am thinking and hoping that they might have been nesting there, since they rejected the pittisporum. No sign of the magpies recently though, and the blue tits do not seem to be in the nesting box any longer...