It's the little things...

Digiscoped shots of Little Ringed Plover at HGF.

Ploughed field nr Midhops Farm. This used to be a reedbed!

Roe Deer faun, Brockholes Quarry

Drake Scaup, Neumann's Flash

Juvenile Coal Tit in the garden

Billy relaxing in the garden

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At this time of year the local patch can often resemble the dead zone with very few new birds around the place. Opportunties to twitch cracking birds like the Royal Tern have been non-existent, consequently I concentrate on taking positives from "little things". A good example is yesterday evening when I spotted a family group of 4 Corn Buntings at HGF - the first confirmation of successful breeding this year at this site. As always the positives are offset by the bits we don't like. A friend who walks HGF regularly watched a Heron pull the head off a well grown Mallard youngster leaving the body and still paddling feet on the bank.

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The Midhops farmer, having cut down the reedbed nr his farm earlier, had then done nothing with the result that the reeds regrew and birds moved back in. Unfortunately the b***ard decided to repeat the act last week with plenty of birds nesting in there. For some reason he has left one clump of tall flowers - a sad male Reed Bunting who has probably seen his efforts wasted twice this year is still perching and singing on the top of these flowers in the forlorn hope that a female will take a liking to his reduced empire!

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The drake Wigeon had departed last time I wrote - fortunately it was just a weekend break and he was back as normal the following Monday morning. A single Black-necked Grebe was present this morning and also last Friday. The single Little Grebe disappeared yesterday - as did a bunch of Tufties, Coot and Pochard overnight. The Little Ringed Plover was present for a couple of days but only one sighting of a Yellow Wagtail in the last 10 days or so. On the lawn in the south field 3 pairs of Lapwings had set up home with several well grown juveniles and had been present for some weeks. Late last week they all simply disappeared - haven't a clue where they have gone!

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In the garden last night was a Jay - only the third time in the five years I have lived here that I have seen one. A Spar also flew through and plenty of juvenile birds around, including a few Coal Tits. Yellowhammers are singing away in Waterworks and Highfield Lanes and the odd Grey Partridge showing briefly - they are hard to spot in the fields full of wheat and barley.

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I did have a brief stab at twitching the Brockholes Quarry Red-backed Shrike - typically I wasn't able to go on the day and it was gone the next. Is it me or have quite a few interesting birds this spring been just one-dayers? While walking around the pool here I heard a noise like a rusty bicycle wheel and spotted a Roe Deer faun in the grass - I managed to get a quick snap before it disappeared.

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Everywhere I have been seems to be full of warblers and not much else. I did however get stonking views of a female (presumably) Garden Warbler at Neumann's Flash (the male was singing in the bush behind me at the time). A drake Scaup was also present on the pool and a single Sedge Warbler was singing - I think there seems to be a large reduction in the numbers of Sedges this year. Alas no Cuckoo or Green Sandpipers, the reasons I went in the first place.

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A wander down Silver Lane on Monday evening was a pleasant walk - nice and suuny and lots of Rabbits. 2 Buzzards were hanging around the tip and a female Sparrowhawk got too near to a family of Mistle Thrushes - the youngsters scarpered while the parents dealt with the Spar! On the way home the Little Owl was prowling around in long grass off Lady Lane. I also had a mooch around Culcheth Linear Park recently. At the back there is a wildflowe meadow with lots of little bushes - typically a good place for warblers. A Jay seemed to follow me around as though keeping an eye on me and a Common Tern was an intersting sight as it flew through.