Patch Surprise.

During my regular patch walks when I reach the bottom of these steps that lead up to the Great Pond I have no idea what I might find (unless the wildlife is talkative) so there is always an anticipation that something different might be on the water or lurking in the surrounding vegetation.

Yesterday morning the only sounds were those of Mallard talking and Coot scolding one another and on reaching the top of the embankment a quick scan only produced the aforementioned species plus Moorhen, two Canada Geese and a distant male Teal. My initial thoughts were that this visit would be a waste of time BUT a further scan of the waterside vegetation produced two unusual visitors including a first sighting for the patch.

A pair of Greylag Geese were accompanied by a single Barnacle Goose but they were obviously wary of any intruder and floated away to the far end of the pond. I then spent over an hour stalking quietly around the perimeter, peering through the branches and eventually managed a few frames to record this very unusual sighting. More images to follow in a future post. FAB.

Linking to Good Fences.

Damp Patch Birding.

The current weather pattern, windy, damp and heavily overcast skies, has not been conducive for photography during my recent patch walks. Most of the small birds have stayed in hiding so just a few images of the larger species seen on or around the pond.

Coot still collecting material to build up or repair the nest.
 

A couple of Cormorants called in for a few days and one spent some time trying to capture some warmth from the limited sunshine.

 

Earlier this month a male Northern Shoveler turned up on the Great Pond but typically kept a long way away from the lens. I subsequently spotted him with his mate who spent most of her time in hiding.

Eventually managed to capture him out of the water.

Mute Swans don't turn up on the patch very often so it was nice to see a pair drop in if only very briefly.

A single Black-headed Gull takes a rest from its aerial circuits around the pond.

Moorhen .... and it's time to dig out the wet weather gear!  Linking to I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'.

Wishing everyone a wonderful wildlife watching weekend, wherever you are.  FAB.

More Coppers than Blues.

My patch walk today at Epsom Common was fairly quiet bird wise. Two Grey Herons on the Great Pond; one hiding in the margins and one (above) slowly wandering out into the open water.

Also logged the usual Mallard and Moorhen. At least four juvenile Chiffchaff were seen flitting through the waterside willows gleaning insects plus Robin and Blue Tit in the woods. Out on the grassland I saw the usual corvids; Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie plus several Jays and disturbed a noisy Green Woodpecker while watching a Kestrel being harassed by two Crows. Three House Martins were also busily chasing insects high overhead.

Apart from a few Speckled Woods on the wing I located several Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). These very tiny but delightful flutters were initially very mobile but I eventually located one at rest in an area that had recently been frequented by the cattle that are drafted in every summer to help manage this habitat. Fortunately they have now departed but evidence of their prior activities is everywhere!

While photographing this individual (above) and trying to be careful where I knelt I noticed another brighter specimen close by with slightly different markings.

The very distinctive row of blue spots on the hindwing indicate that this is the fairly common variation known as caeruleopunctata.

The only other butterfly seen was a solitary Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) that was extremely evasive as it searched constantly for nectar over a wide area with very few sources still in flower.  FAB.

ECP Patch Roundup.

There has been very little visible avian activity on my local patch walks around Epsom Common Pond during the past week with most of the breeding birds staying hidden so I thought I would include some other residents as well as a few of the regular bird species.

A Chiffchaff regularly uses the same perch  and often gives me a quick burst of song as I climb the steps up to the Great Pond.

One chance sighting was finding a juvenile Grey Wagtail hiding in the branches close to the water but one press of the camera button and it flew away! My previous patch sighting of this species was back in 2010 so nice to see one around again, albeit briefly.

The Great and Stew Pond regulars include breeding Mallard, Canada Geese, Coot, Moorhen and Mandarin Duck plus the visiting Grey Herons. With such high water levels I haven't seen any evidence of a wader dropping in for a visit so far this year.

Mrs. Mallard taking a rest from her parenting duties.

There have been a number of male Tufted Duck and one female on the Great Pond since mid April but I haven't noticed any evidence of breeding so far this year.

Very few Odonata species logged this week include Large Red, Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies. 

Large Red Damselflies in tandem.

It's a well known fact that Grey Squirrels tend to scramble around a tree to hide from possible predators on the opposite side but this individual obviously didn't know the 'watcher' was behind it!

Whilst Canada Geese are regular breeders Greylag Geese sightings are very infrequent on the patch and I recently only just got a glimpse as one flew away calling for its friends.

During my wanderings I am often aware of the movement of Deer feeding throughout the woodland and sometimes a Roe Doe will appear from behind the lush vegetation, stop and stare at the 'watcher' who copies her action until she feels confident that I'm not a threat and slowly ambles onward.

 

Alongside the hedgerow close to the car park is the best spot to do a bit of Rabbit watching. They rarely let me get within 20 yards before disappearing into deep cover.

Butterflies recorded included Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown and Large Skipper.
At two other sites I captured images of Marbled White and White Admiral which you can view on FABirding.    FAB.

Linking to Nature Notes and Our World Tuesday.

A Grey Day.

After the pre-match euphoria emanating from the immediate neighbourhood yesterday evening everyone appeared  to be deathly quiet this morning including the garden birds ... I wonder why!

With a grey overcast sky I headed over to to the Stew Pond at Epsom Common where the only activity was a number of fishermen patiently waiting for something to nibble their baited hooks and the family of Canada Geese heading for an empty spot on the far bank. I scanned the Great Pond and only seeing one Grey Heron and two male Tufted Ducks I strolled through the woodland adding Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wren, Great Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker to the morning list.

In a small glade where some grey light filtered through the canopy I spied a tatty Speckled Wood while unsuccessfully trying to locate the exact location of a nearby singing Blackcap.

As the sky darkened I heard the call of a Grey Heron and just managed to focus (heavily cropped) on one of two individuals as they noisily departed from the Great Pond to head elsewhere. A wander around the scrub beyond the ponds produced a singing Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat plus several Green Woodpeckers, Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow and a single Goldfinch.

With the hint of rain in the air I picked up the distant sound of a Yellowhammer and after scanning around I found the songster typically perched on the bare topmost branches of one of the highest trees so only another cropped image. At least its colours brightened up the grey sky.

My peripheral vision picked up the flight of a Meadow Brown at ground level just before it disappeared into the vegetation so I had to crouch low down to only be rewarded with a closed wing shot.

On my return towards the car park the Canada family were out of the water with all but one of the goslings taking a late morning nap.

Back at home their was a brief flurry of activity with both adult and juvenile Blue Tits, Robin and a colourful Goldfinch on the seed feeder.   FAB.

P.S. Some readers may notice that I have changed the title of this blog from 'The Early Birder' to 'Wildlife Watching with FAB' but still accessible at the existing web address: http://fabearlybirder.blogspot.com/.
The decision was not taken lightly but as I have for some time been taking a more relaxed approach to my varied wildlife watching excursions this change now seemed appropriate PLUS it will hopefully prevent confusion with another UK blog operated under the same title.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.

During a late morning visit to my local patch I initially spent some time with the young ducklings and goslings around the pond (subjects for a future post) and as I entered the woodland edge I heard the distinctive, constant calls of begging Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopus major). 

It took a moment or two, due to the density of the verdant foliage, but here is the nest hole from which the sounds emanated. I know from experience that they are very wary at breeding time and because of the nest position it was difficult to find a location far enough away but close enough to get some reasonable images

The sexes are very similar but the male (above) sports a red patch at the back of its head. He was very vocal, constantly calling out that short, sharp 'kick .. kick' and often perched deeper in the wood beyond the nest hole.

 

Typically the adults slowly approach closer to the nest hole, more often perching out of view and then working their way around the tree constantly looking and listening out for possible predators.

 How they manage to call with a full beak of goodies for their youngsters beats me!

The female (below) was less obvious around the nest but this image illustrates the difference in the head pattern and the amount of food being consumed by her young ones.

Hopefully I'll find some time, weather permitting, to revisit them sometime next week.  FAB.

Linking to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

Patch Birds.

A few images of some of the recent regulars seen on my local patch just to keep things ticking over.

Coot out for a stroll.

  Mallards on the move.

Grey Heron.

Female Linnet (Shame about the background)

Willow Warbler.

Male Blackcap.

 Common Whitethroat high amongst the blossom

Starling checking out a possible threat from overhead!

 A Roe Buck watching the 'watcher'.

Carrion Crow just strutting around.

 

Canada Geese enjoying a feed around the 8th green at Horton G.C.

 Speckled Wood alighted in the garden.

And finally (through the window) a Starling eying up the freshly filled suet feeder.

N.B. This is a scheduled post and I should be back live sometime over the weekend.