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Coney Meadow and Adjoining Areas (13 Viewers)
- Thread starter Woodchat
- Start date
Woodchat
Cogito ergo sum
This morning's highlight was a Hobby over Porter's Mill.
Ten Tufted Ducks flew over Coney from Westwood direction (a new record count for the patch).
1 Swift and many Hirundines, Sparrowhawk and several Buzzards plus 1 Raven.
Great views of a Muntjac Deer at close range in Coney - amazingly, it then jumped in the canal and swam to the other side!!
Yesterday, many Mistle Thrushes feeding on Yew Berries in Salwarpe village, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, several Common Whitethroats, Reed Warblers and 1 singing Willow Wabler.
1 Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Darter and several Southern Hawkers.
Ten Tufted Ducks flew over Coney from Westwood direction (a new record count for the patch).
1 Swift and many Hirundines, Sparrowhawk and several Buzzards plus 1 Raven.
Great views of a Muntjac Deer at close range in Coney - amazingly, it then jumped in the canal and swam to the other side!!
Yesterday, many Mistle Thrushes feeding on Yew Berries in Salwarpe village, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, several Common Whitethroats, Reed Warblers and 1 singing Willow Wabler.
1 Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Darter and several Southern Hawkers.
Birder Gladys
Well-known member
Mary
Well-known member
Fabulous photo!:t:
Birder Gladys
Well-known member
thanks Mary, didn't know if a flash would effect the bat plus it didn't smile
just lucky this time
Triturus
Triturus
Gladys
Nice picture. You may find you bat watching would be enhanced by a bat detector. Though most are designed for specialist surveys and allow identification of species (with interpretation and experience) it can actually be good just to have a simple bit of kit that converts the echolocation into audible sounds so you can hear the bats approaching.
Costs for a standard bat detector used by surveyors is around £80 to £>£3000
some general details are here :
http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/bat_detectors.html
However, for fun when out and about you can try this bit of kit which will tell you the bats are about and it really will not matter if you drop it in a puddle. It is £15 and though it looks like a kids toy, who cares - it should be dark when you are using it! It has been recommended by the Bat conservation Trust for bat walks so should be OK.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discovery-Channel-D12-Ultrasonic-Detector/dp/B00DUNS8K8
Hope you have some fun with this before the season ends, or has it already gone?
Regards
Triturus
Nice picture. You may find you bat watching would be enhanced by a bat detector. Though most are designed for specialist surveys and allow identification of species (with interpretation and experience) it can actually be good just to have a simple bit of kit that converts the echolocation into audible sounds so you can hear the bats approaching.
Costs for a standard bat detector used by surveyors is around £80 to £>£3000
some general details are here :
http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/bat_detectors.html
However, for fun when out and about you can try this bit of kit which will tell you the bats are about and it really will not matter if you drop it in a puddle. It is £15 and though it looks like a kids toy, who cares - it should be dark when you are using it! It has been recommended by the Bat conservation Trust for bat walks so should be OK.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discovery-Channel-D12-Ultrasonic-Detector/dp/B00DUNS8K8
Hope you have some fun with this before the season ends, or has it already gone?
Regards
Triturus
Last edited:
Triturus
Triturus
Woodchat - interesting report. I will post some more details later in the winter, when we get an article prepared, as my colleagues worked on a glow worm translocation in Buckinghamshire which may be of interest.
The wingless glowing females are obviously easy to find and pick up however the flying males present more of a challenge. In this instance we constructed a funnel trap out of a drinks bottle and placed in it a lure (a fake glowing female) made from a green LED running off a watch battery (all from Maplins). With only one thing on their minds this set up was successful and caught a fair number of males for translocation with the females to a managed receptor site.
Triturus:t:
Woodchat
Cogito ergo sum
Thanks - I did a more detailed report last year - see post 510 of this thread - inlcuding details of a second colony at Harford Hill (not visited at dusk this year).
Translocation in order to help them spread - e.g. to the other side of the canal in order to improve their chances of survival - is an interesting possibility considering the development proposals. Though I have read that their precise requirements are difficult to establish and many sites that look suitable to us for Glow worms often aren't successfully colonised or sustained long-term. Coney Meadow and the other grasslands on the other side of the canal look ideal to me but there could be a reason that they are not currently occupied.
I take it the Bucks translocation was successful and sustained (?):t:
Woodchat
Cogito ergo sum
There's been a bit of a 'drought' of decent birds on the patch lately - so this morning's Whinchats were very satisfying and the first multiple record as far as I'm aware.
Attached are 'digi-binned' record shots taken from various angles - however, they're all really cr@p! Should've taken my 'scope.
There's just something about Whinchats that I really love - great little birds.
Also this morning - 1 Tufted Duck on the fishing pool, 2 Kestrels, Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, lots of House Martins (still feeding young in the nest), Swallows, Buzzards and Raven.
Attached are 'digi-binned' record shots taken from various angles - however, they're all really cr@p! Should've taken my 'scope.
There's just something about Whinchats that I really love - great little birds.
Also this morning - 1 Tufted Duck on the fishing pool, 2 Kestrels, Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, lots of House Martins (still feeding young in the nest), Swallows, Buzzards and Raven.
Attachments
Woodchat
Cogito ergo sum
Other birds today included:
5 Swifts
2 Lesser Whitethroats
Sedge Warbler (juv)
2 Coal Tits
Willow Warbler
Blackcaps
Chiffchaffs
2 Ravens
Sparrowhawk
Grey Heron
Canada Geese
3 Mistle Thrushes
I disturbed a couple of Buzzards off a kill in the middle of a field this evening and was surprised to find that their quarry was a Woodpigeon. It must take some skill for them to catch one of those!
Insects included a couple of Hornets and a Red Admiral.
5 Swifts
2 Lesser Whitethroats
Sedge Warbler (juv)
2 Coal Tits
Willow Warbler
Blackcaps
Chiffchaffs
2 Ravens
Sparrowhawk
Grey Heron
Canada Geese
3 Mistle Thrushes
I disturbed a couple of Buzzards off a kill in the middle of a field this evening and was surprised to find that their quarry was a Woodpigeon. It must take some skill for them to catch one of those!
Insects included a couple of Hornets and a Red Admiral.
Woodchat
Cogito ergo sum
3+ Spotted Flycatchers this evening darting in and out of the hedgerow that runs up the sloping pasture opposite Coney Meadow. It's possible they may have bred around High Park this year but they have been notably absent from Salwarpe village since the singing male in May. Or they may be passage birds - as there seems to have been quite a few moving through the midlands at the weekend. Anyhow - it's just great to see them on the patch again.
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