Lesser Whitethroats at two sites

Bovingdon Brickworks is a well establish breeding territory for the Whitethroat or Common Whitethroat but in 2013 and 2015 it also attracted a Lesser Whitethroat (a far more difficult bird to find locally). This year, another singing male has arrived at the site, details here.

Gadespring too annually attracts one or two Common Whitethroats but this year, Lesser Whitethroat has also been recorded on site, details here.

Highlights from the first week of May

The sunshine and warmth of the first week of May have finally breathed life into Spring. The Green Hairstreaks have emerged at Roughdown (details and more HERE), Dingy Skippers are now flying at the Brickworks and the first moth trapping of the year took place on site (details and more HERE). Finally, a pair of Grey Wagtails are nesting by the River Bulbourne (more info HERE).

Toads spawn at the Brickworks & the first Willow Warbler arrives

For more details on the Toads at the Brickworks, click HERE

For the Willow Warbler, click HERE

Spring walk along the Bulbourne & first Newt emerges!

The fantastic Kingfisher pair have been keeping photographers and wildlife enthusiasts entertained through the winter.
Bulbroune Meadow, January 2016

Grey, dull and wet: not quite the spring weather I was after on Thursday! However, in spite of the dankness, at every stage along the Bulbourne, there was something interesting to see. Mr Kingfisher made off with a decent prize for his good lady. A pair of Wrens were inspecting a nest hole, preparing to raise this year’s brood. The Grey Wagtail pair were together, foraging along the river bank on Bulbourne Meadow, and a couple of Little Egrets were lazily fishing the shallows. Great Tits and Mistle Thrushes were amongst those in full song. Goldcrests seemed to be on the move too, with single birds at separate locations, edging their way along the bank. Finally, on Blackbirds Moor, there were a good 15+ Redwing, darting between the soft ground and the safety of the trees. There were also flocks still at the Brickworks and at Roughdown Common this week.

A few Snowdrops are still hanging on. Primroses and Daffodils are blooming on Harding’s Moor and it won’t be long before the Grape Hyacinths also open up. The latter seem very early.

Full list of bird species seen 10/3/2016

1. Wren
2. Dunnock
3. Robin
4. Blackbird
5. Song Thrush
6. Mistle Thrush
7. Redwing
8. Woodpigeon
9. Feral Pigeon
10. Magpie
11. Coot
12. Moorhen
13. Mallard
14. Canada Goose
15. Black-headed Gull
16. Starling
17. House Sparrow
18. Jay
19. Carrion Crow
20. Little Egret
21. Grey Heron
22. Grey Wagtail
23. Kingfisher
24. Chaffinch
25. Goldfinch
26. Goldcrest
27. Great Tit
28. Blue Tit
29. Long-tailed Tit
30. Red Kite

Frequently seen but not noted on Thursday:

• Kestrel
• Sparrowhawk
• Greenfinch
• Coal Tit
• Nuthatch
• Green and/or Great Spotted Woodpecker

In other news

David K spotted the first of the year's Newts to emerge at Gadespring (HERE). In the coming weeks, we're hoping to survey a few sites and see which species the Trust land supports.

Lesser Redpoll pair still at the Brickworks

A pair of Lesser Redpolls, presumably the same birds that I observed through last month, is still at the Brickworks. A couple of record shots HERE.

A crisp winter's day & sunlit Buntings

Last Wednesday was one of those crisp, clear frosty days, bathed in sun light.

I came across a wintering Chiffchaff along the Bulbourne on Fishery Moor and, up in the little reed bed bordering Old Fishery Lane, there could have been as many 12 Reed Buntings. I counted at least 8 and photographed 5 of them. A couple were also ringed.

The Kingfishers (male and female) remain faithful to the Bulbourne and continue to attract admirers.

A group of 4 Crows were skittering on ice on Fishery Moor. They were stopping fairly frequently, though, to break off tiny protruding grass icicles, presumably to eat/drink. It seemed to require a great deal of concentration and effort for very little reward!

Amongst the other birds of note were 5 Grey Herons, spread across the Moors, and 3 Little Egrets (one of which was the colour ringed bird LAON(9);RAYN(D), in the Bulbourne west of Old Fishery Lane, last recorded here on 9/11/2015). The resident Kestrel on Harding’s Moor perched up briefly before taking flight to resume the hunt. A Goldcrest came through with a mixed Tit flock on Station Moor, a Song Thrush sang and it was hard to escape the rattles of numerous Mistle Thrushes (10+) favouring the moors east of Station Road.

Mixed ground-feeding flock at Roughdown

Throughout the winter, there is often a lovely mix of bird species feeding out in the open on Further Roughdown. One morning in October, I had Chaffinch, Green Woodpecker, Redwing and Mistle Thrush all feeding within one square metre. Today, a colourful flock of Greenfinches had joined the throng. For the full count, click HERE.

Lesser Redpolls at the Brickworks

Lesser Redpoll is not an easy species to see around Hemel Hempstead and, up until today, I'd not seen them at Bovingdon Brickworks either. For more on the sighting see HERE.

Siskins on Blackbirds Moor

Siskins are resident in the north and west of the UK but, here in Hertfordshire, we have to wait until the winter to spot them. Smart, yellow and black and streaky, these small-billed finches favour the seeds of Alder cones during winter. For the past 3 years, I have been keeping my eyes peeled for them around Trust land but it wasn’t until this autumn that I first saw and heard them on passage migration. The great news is that a small flock are currently feeding in the Alders beside the canal on Blackbirds Moor. They’re best viewed from the canal path with binoculars, from the opposite bank. If you have no luck there, the birds are also occasionally visiting the Alders on Hardings Moor. They'll stay as long as there's food and then they'll be off somewhere new...

Keep your ears open for their whistling calls.

Little Egrets hit double figures

The wet weather continued into Saturday and so did the 7 Little Egrets on the Hemel moors. More importantly, 7 became 8 and we hit double figures, TEN(!), for the total number of individuals visiting the Bulbourne in the last couple of months.

For a brief spell, the rain stopped and the sun came out. 5 Little Egrets on Bulbourne Meadow, 7/11/2015

Yesterday, 5 birds had gathered on Bulbourne Meadow and 3 were hanging out on Fishery Moor. Amongst them were the same 2 colour-ringed individuals as the previous day. That meant, we’d gained another un-ringed bird, probably attracted to the site by the large gathering. It was also interesting to note that 3 immature Grey Herons were also on Bulbourne Meadow and at least 1 other immature bird, probably 2 more, were further upstream. The most I'd seen on previous visits were 2 immature birds.

So, we’ve had 6 un-ringed and 4 ringed Little Egrets frequent the moors in the last 9 weeks. That’s pretty good going for an area which experiences frequent disturbance from pedestrians, runners, dogs, etc.

9 Little Egrets in 9 weeks & Fieldfares arrive

Yesterday, I think the awful weather was to our advantage as it grounded a flock of 5 Little Egrets, 4 of which were new in, on Fishery Moor. The 2 other regular adults were feeding downstream in their favoured areas, making a total of 7 Little Egrets on the moors yesterday afternoon.

The group of 5 Little Egrets, including 2 colour-ringed birds, on Fishery Moor, 06/11/2015

The group of 5 included 2 colour-ringed birds, one of which was new in: RBM; LAON(9); RAYN(D), BTO ring GR24046. This individual came from the first ever nest at Verulamium Park in St Albans, ringed on 9th June 2014 by Barry Trevis. It had 3 siblings. In Autumn that year, it was spotted at Startop’s End reservoir, Tring. Finally, it was observed at the end of last year, in December 2014, in the Chaulden area of Hemel. Where it’s been for the last 11 months is anyone’s guess!

Video still, showing the new colour-ringed bird

In the last 9 weeks, the Box Moor Trust land along the River Bulbourne has been host to at least 9 LITTLE EGRETS: 2 regular un-ringed birds, 3 un-ringed visitors (yesterday) and 4 ringed birds, the latest of which carried the number 9.

Ringed birds:

LAON(9); RAYN(H). BTO ring GR24085, first spotted 03/09/2015 (caught toe)
LAON(H); RAYN(F). BTO ring GR24083, first spotted 04/09/2015
LAON(H); RAYN(C). BTO ring GR24066, first spotted 20/10/2015
LAON(9); RAYN(D). BTO ring GR24046, first spotted 06/11/2015

In other news, I caught up with the Fieldfares at the beginning of last week. On Tuesday, there was a small flock of 11 at Westbrook Hay and another of about 10 in dense scrub at the Brickworks. These birds have likely come from Scandinavia, Finland or northwest Russia and do end up frequently associating with Redwings, as was the case at the Brickworks. Keep your ears peeled for that chack, chack, chack call.

Redwings arrive

Over the last week or so the winter Thrushes have started to arrive locally. Migrant Blackbirds and Redwings have been the most abundant. Over at the Brickworks, I came across a flock of at least 50 Redwing last week. A good few remain on site, and the smaller woodland birds are forming mixed species flocks to give themselves the best chances of survival as winter approaches. For a full species count from this morning, head on over to the Brickworks blog, HERE.

Colour-ringed Little Egrets

The River Bulbourne, running through Bulbourne Meadow, is currently a favoured spot for 3 colour-ringed Little Egrets. Two were first spotted at the beginning of September, hatched this spring in St Albans, Verulamium Park. A third bird turned up yesterday, ringed as a juvenile at Lemsford Springs in September 2014. The ring details are as follows:

LAON(9); RAYN(H). BTO ring GR24085, first spotted 03/09/2015
LAON(H); RAYN(F). BTO ring GR24083, first spotted 04/09/2015
LAON(H); RAYN(C). BTO ring GR24066, first spotted 20/10/2015

Colour-ringed birds on Bulbourne Meadow, 4 Sept 2015

Third colour-ringed bird, River Bulbourne, 20 Oct 2015

If you'd like to know more about the history of Little Egrets in Europe and the ringing scheme, I put together a couple of far more rambling posts on my personal blog, HERE and HERE.

The clash of Kings on the River Bulbourne & an Osprey!

It’s that time of year when monogamous Kingfisher pairs part company and set up alone to see out the winter. The young too disperse, finding their own stretches of water to patrol and to sustain them through the colder months.

Just after 3pm yesterday, beside the river on Harding’s Moor, approaching Station Road, I could hear two Kingfishers having a right old barney. Insistent calling from both parties and, when I finally located the female, perched precariously on grasses overhanging the river, she was posturing continually, bowing her head and staring with murderous intent.

Disturbed by a man looking for fish(?!), the birds flew up in to the tree on the opposite bank and here they remained for at least the next 2 hours, barely moving except to posture, flinch and mirror one another. Apart from the rise and fall of their chests as they breathed, you could be mistaken for believing they were playing statues - to move was to lose the battle.

The female had clearly staked out her spot but the male seemed to slowly but surely decrease the distance between them. Unfortunately, it started to rain quite heavily towards 5pm and I had to call it a day, leaving the pair locked in this subtle but fierce battle. I wonder if this location on the river is a boundary between adjacent territories and they were asserting their lots? The male, I think, is a first winter bird and the female an adult. Perhaps mother is trying to encourage son to stop raiding the food cupboard and go out and find his own supplies! I had watched the female fishing downstream last week, again in the gloom and drizzle.

Female Kingfisher, River Bulbourne, 6 Oct 2015. A selection of video stills from handheld video footage, in the rain!

One of these days, I’ll come across the Kingfishers when there’s enough light for nice photographs at a reasonable ISO. In the meantime, here are some 90 seconds from the 2 hour stand-off, to give you a flavour of the determined patience of these birds when holding their ground. The tension of battle is palpable but made all the more obvious when the young male jumps at the sound of the female’s sudden call. Their focus was such that they completely ignored me, standing less than 10 metres away, as conspicuous as a pink elephant.

In other news - An OSPREY!

I received an exciting report from Trustee, Peter Ablett, yesterday. He’d been a passenger in a car crossing the Bulbourne on Station Road at about 12:20 and “fleetingly saw an Osprey sitting on the stump of the fallen willow by the river bridge” (very near where I subsequently watched the Kingfishers). He returned on foot a little while later but the bird had gone by then, unfortunately. Nevertheless, it’s a fantastic record and another “first” for the Trust.

New Life

Birds fledging at the Brickworks, HERE, and moths developing at Roughdown, HERE.

Birds Fledge & Brassy Longhorns!

Over the last 10 days, Kestrels, Green Woodpeckers and the Swallows have fledged at Westbrook Hay. Over at the Brickworks, I came across a small gathering of Nemophora metallica also known as Brassy Longhorn moths. These are a county rarity although there have been a handful of records in the last year or so. For more details, head to the Brickworks blog, HERE.

Lesser Whitethroat Calls In

Catch up with some of this week's goings-on at the Brickworks, including a singing male Lesser Whitethroat and a Bee Orchid find, HERE.

Migrants, Fledglings & Bee Orchid Tally

This week, I was keen to do a proper butterfly count and see if any migrant butterflies or moths had turned up. I was particularly looking for Silver-Y (Autographa gamma) but didn’t have any luck there.

Wednesday (17/06/2015)

I predominantly tackled Bovingdon Reach meadow, although I did skirt round the west side of Dellfield and go through Hay Wood and up into Ramacre Wood. The butterflies and moths were as follows:

Dellfield meadow (TL029057)
3 Small Tortoiseshell
4 Meadow Brown
4 Common Blue
4 Yellow Shell
1 Burnet Companion
1 Large Skipper
1 Celypha lacunana

Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata), a very variable moth. This one had the much darker band.

Hay Wood (TL030056)
3 Yellow-barred Longhorn (1 female, 2 male, different locations within grid ref)

Bovingdon Reach meadow (TL028052 & surrounding area)
12 Meadow Brown
6 Common Blue
2 Yellow Shell
11 Burnet Companion
1 Garden Grass-veneer

Ramacre Wood (TL024049)
24 Yellow-barred Longhorn (an all male gathering!)

Yellow-barred Longhorn (Nemophora degeerella), female.
The relatively short antennae suggest this is a female - the only one I found - the rest were all males!

In Hay Wood, close to the pond, there was a bundle of 6 noisy, freshly fledged Wrens. In the pond, I did spot 2 Newts that David K had found the previous day.

Juvenile Wren. 1 of at least 6, under rather a dark Hay Wood canopy. 

Thursday (18/06/2015)

I walked the Brickworks and spent some time in the NE corner of Bovingdon Reach, counting the Bee Orchids. The tallies were as follows:

Bovingdon Brickworks (TL008027 & surrounding area)
4 Speckled Wood
16 Meadow Brown
1 Small Tortoiseshell
2 Yellow-barred Longhorn (males)
7 Common Blue
1 Dingy Skipper
1 Marbled White (first of the year)
1 Painted Lady (Migrant. First of the year)
1 Large White
1 Yellow Shell
1 Hummingbird Hawk-moth (first I've seen at the site)

Also, at least 6, possibly up to 8 chirpy, newly fledged Nuthatches in the wooded area, grid ref: TL00800269.

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), Bovingdon Brickworks

Bovingdon Reach meadow (concentrating on a small area, where the Bee Orchids are thriving, TL030053)
1 Painted Lady (Migrant. First, as far as I know, for the site)
1 Brown Argus (first for the site)
3 Small Tortoiseshell
6 Common Blue
6 Meadow Brown
1 Burnet Companion
1 Yellow Shell
1 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) (Migrant)

Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella), a very worn, faded specimen.

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) count was at least 87 spikes. I will have missed a good few more, so, numbers aren’t too far down on last year.

The Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) was a real surprise and the first I’ve seen at the Westbrook Hay meadows. I have noticed a lot of Cut-leaved Cranesbill growing around Dellfield meadow and I’m sure it’ll be on Bovingdon Reach as well. The area is just right for Brown Argus so I can’t see any reason why this region can’t become well populated in the future.

Brown Argus, Bovingdon Reach, photographed by © Jason R Chalk whilst
I checked the underside of the butterfly to ensure it wasn't a female Common Blue. It wasn't!

Overall, Common Blue numbers seem low this year, so far.

Willow Warblers Mixing it Up!

There have been at least 2 mixed singing Willow Warblers on Box Moor Trust land this Spring. For more details, head on over to the Brickworks blog, HERE.