Blackcock, Badgers & Buntings

Whoops! Realised I've been a bit lax about posting updates over the last couple of weeks... Two new arrivals are largely to blame; a) new laptop & b) new dog. We've re-homed Hurley- a lovely but rather boisterous Husky-  to join our two older girls, so he's been keeping us busy!

Hurley

However, I have been out and about a lot looking at the various signs of spring over the last 10 days, so quite a few sightings to update you on.

There's been lots of waterfowl activity at Coate Water over the last couple of weeks. The Great Crested Grebes have well & truly started their courtship displays now & I've been enjoying watching them dancing & wafting bits of pondweed around. There are still good numbers of wintering Goosanders and Shellducks present too, as well as the usual Tufted Ducks, Mallards, Coots and so on.

Great Crested Grebes

Herring Gull

I was pleased to finally have a close encounter with the Great White Egret that's been around for the last few months. It spend some time really close to the hide. Seeing it alongside one of the many resident Grey Herons really emphasized just what a large bird it is.

Great White Egret & Grey Heron

As well as the waterbirds, there were Gold Crests aplenty, now singing away merrily. The large winter flock of Long-tailed Tits has also been keeping me amused with their antics. I also managed to get a detailed shot of a Reed Bunting at last. This bird has been appearing fairly regularly around the hide, so fingers crossed this won't be my first and last shot of it!

Long-tailed Tit

Reed Bunting

I've spent quite a lot of time over the last couple of weeks searching for Little Owl sites. I did have a reliable pair, but they sadly vanished during the hard winter 2 years back, so I was determined to track down some more local pairs this season. I was chuffed to discover another pair in much the same area as my original site. They look to be on their nest hole, so I'm not planning on getting too close for a few weeks, but I'll be keeping an eye on their movements. I've also managed to find another 3 pairs - although none in quite as picturesque locations, as two are in barns & the last is using a man-made box. Hopefully I'll have a few shots to share later in the year.

Little Owl - Record

The local Brown Hare population is also showing signs of spring behavior. I haven't seen any actually boxing yet, but they do seem to be pairing up at present. We've also spotted several pairs of male pheasants sparring, but so far they've either been too distant, or seen from the road with no possible place to pull over. 

Brown Hare

Going a bit further afield, Wednesday morning saw me up well before the crack of dawn to head over to Wales in search of Black Grouse. I checked the forecast before I set out; calm, sunny & cold - supposedly. Err... no. Afraid not; it was mild, raining & blowing a gale! (The weather app still insisted it was sunny & bright even while I was there!). However the Blackcock were showing really well when I first arrived, just before 6am. There were over a dozen lekking well, quite close to the road. I also spotted a couple of females slightly further back in the heather - suggesting they are now entering the full breeding display period, rather than simply maintaining their status on the lek. I was really getting my hopes up for some good shots once the sun came up... but it was not to be. A pair of Peregrines flushed all the birds just at sunrise, much to my displeasure. Four grouse eventually did come back, but no further displaying, sadly. Also seen a little further on was a single Red Grouse. Still, I'm not too despondent, as we're off to Scotland in a week's time, so we'll be visiting a few good sites in the Highlands - assuming I can drag Lou out of bed in the small hours!

As it was a beautiful day today, we decided to head over to the Forest of Dean to see if we could find any Two-Barred Crossbills. There have been some big flocks spotted recently, but to be honest we were a bit late in the day heading out, so I think the morning would have been a better bet. We did see one, but it was right up the top of a tree, and viewed from the car - again, unfortunately not in a safe place to stop. However, we did have a very pleasant little ramble through a small pine copse, where Lou took great delight in playing nature detective looking at tracks & poo to deduce what wildlife was in the area. Chris Packham would have been proud as we spotted several Badger latrines, fox & deer poo - and several Tawny Owl pellets (which Lou insisted be brought home for further examination, having reverted utterly to childhood nerdiness!). We also found lots of evidence of Crossbills having been around quite recently, judging by the numbers of nibbled pine cones all over the place. I may pop back early one morning for another look if we have a decent forecast.

Badger latrine

Tawny Owl Pellet