Thursday 2 May 2013

Little and lots

On my way to West Hartford early this morning I met LiverBirder who had earlier seen the Little Owl on Beacon Lane and was now on his way to Arcot Pond.


I didn’t bother checking the pools at WH and instead went straight to the riverside woods. Two Grasshopper Warbler were reeling away as I passed. As I reached the woods I got a call from Gordon saying that he was watching a Scaup at Arcot Pond.

Kindly picked up by him minutes later I was watching the dapper drake swim across the pond with the Tufted Duck, its silver back making it even easier to pick out. This is the first one I have seen on the patch but it is a rare Cramlington species. Also at least two Sedge Warbler were singing from the reeds.

Next stop was Beacon Lane where eventually I found the Little Owl perched high in the tree on the bend in the lane. It watched me the whole time turning its head as I moved.

On the way back I checked Brockwell Scrubland where plenty of Blackcap, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were singing. I also heard another Grasshopper Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat.

As I am writing this post a pair of Blackcap are on my feeders in the garden, never had a pair in the garden before. I think I should have checked the pools at WH this morning as I have just seen the there is now an LRP!

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