10 Mar 17

Coate Water

Tony Martin
At Hide 2 today there was a Green Sandpiper resting on the corner of the island and 3 Water Rail showing at the side of the hide.

At Hide 1 there were a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers on the fat balls. Also on the feeders were the pair of Coal Tits with some Long-tailed Tits and below them feeding on the ground my first male Reed Bunting this winter.

Green Sandpiper (Tony Martin)

Reed Bunting (Tony Martin)

Brian Waller and Dave the bike
At Coate Water today Green Sandpiper, a male Reed Bunting, 4 Water Rails, Sparrowhawk, Fly-by Kingfishers, Coal Tits, Great Spotted Woodpecker and all the usual suspects.

Green Sandpiper (Brian Waller)

Water Rail (Brian Waller)

A male Reed Bunting (Brian Waller)

Haydon End

Finally some moths this year!
5 Hebrew Character, Orthosia gothica
Common Quaker, Orthosia cerasi 
2 Light Brown Apple Moth, Epiphyas postvittana

Also a Ground Beetle larvae sp.

(Nigel Sluman)

Hebrew Character (Nigel Sluman)

Hebrew Character (Nigel Sluman)

Common Quaker (Nigel Sluman)

Light Brown Apple Moth (Nigel Sluman)

Ground Beetle larvae sp. (Nigel Sluman)

Highworth

8 moths of 6 species in the MV moth trap:
1 Common Plume, Emmelina monodactyla
1 Beautiful Plume, Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
1 Dotted Border, Agriopis marginaria
1 Oak Beauty, Biston strataria
1 Common Quaker, Orthosia cerasi 
3 Hebrew Character, Orthosia gothica

(Steve Nash)

Liden

2 Light Brown Apple moths.

(Steve Covey)

Nythe Pool

In and around the pool 3 Mallard (2m,1f), a fly-by Kingfisher, both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, a pair of Goldcrests and just 3 Moorhens.

(Martin Adlam)

Note:

A trickle of Spring migrants are just starting to pass through with ones and two's of the following species shown below. I have added a few likely places to see them based on sightings sent into this Blog over the past few years.

Osprey - Coate Water, Cotswold Water Park and any large expanse of water. Plus if you hear gulls making a racket it could be a raptor and Ospreys aren't exempt from their mobbing.

Little Ringed Plover - Cotswold Water Park on sandbars. For example the scrape on CWP Pit 74 observed from Twitchers Gate.

Sand Martin and Swallows - Any water at this time of year as they will be looking for insects to feed on.

Wheatear - Liddington Hill, Barbury Castle, Blakehill Farm NR, Morgans's Hill, Fyfield Down, Shaw Forest Park.

Ring Ouzel - Liddington Hill, Barbury Castle, Morgans's Hill, Fyfield Down

Chiffchaff - Can be heard just about anywhere as they pass through. Song is a Chiff-chaff, Chiff-chaff.

Posted in: Wildlife Photography