SPOTTED FLYCATCHER delight

THURSDAY 16 JULY

Another very warm day but quite overcast at times. Dry with slackening SW winds.

MARSWORTH 'WOOD' AND RESERVOIR

A most delightful sight was of a pair of adult SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS feeding three streaky young birds in the small plantation, flitting between the tall Black Poplars and the main track. The main prey items being brought in appeared to be small daytime flying moths. On several occasions, I could hear the bill snapping of the adults. The group afforded excellent views and presumably involve a pair which has nested locally. The photographs above were obtained by Dave Hutton.

A singing male Common Chiffchaff was also noted, and a CETTI'S WARBLER sang from the reedbed.

Still no sign of any Great Crested Grebe breeding success on Marsworth

STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR

Wow, so much mud now on show with the SW corner of the reservoir now looking its best since the Least Sandpiper occurrence. The only wader present today was a single COMMON SANDPIPER on the bunds.

Mute Swans had increased to 32, Greylag Geese numbered 12 (including three goslings) and a female Tufted Duck was feeding four small ducklings. Seven juvenile Moorhens were feeding on the mud.

WILSTONE RESERVOIR (1800 hours)

Sandpiper numbers had increased with 2 GREEN SANDPIPERS on the muddy fringe to the right of the Drayton Bank Hide and 4 COMMON SANDPIPERS on the bund. Earlier in the day, Roy and Dave B had recorded a single COMMON REDSHANK. Roosting Lapwings numbered 132.

Of the rest, a single Common Teal was noted, 12 Great Crested Grebes (but no sign of the lone surviving juvenile), 190+ Coot, 16 Black-headed Gulls, 44 Common Terns and 38 House Martins.

HADDEN'S PLANTATION, SHORT HEATH (SP 958 058)

A pair of BULLFINCH noted.

More COMMON CROSSBILLS

At work today in the garden at Aston Hill I had a total of 10 COMMON CROSSBILLS.

The first one flew over heading west, calling, at 9.40am. A group of 7 flew in at 10.50am, landed briefly in some conifers on the edge of the garden and then flew off south. Another 2 flew in at 12.15pm and then headed west.

We should be seeing some good flocks in the county over the next few weeks.

Little else of note around apart from a Tawny Owl calling and Red Kite (Rob Andrews)

LITTLE EGRET still present

In addition to 8 feeding Grey Herons, the long-staying juvenile LITTLE EGRET is still present on Wilstone Reservoir today.

A dearth of Common Crossbills

WENDOVER FOREST

An extensive search of the Forest drew a complete blank on Common Crossbill and produced very little in the way of birdlife other than 3 noisy family parties of FIRECREST and a single fledged COMMON WHITETHROAT.

Butterflies put on a good show though and at the tall Buddleia bush at SP 891 081, SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARIES were performing in the warm late afternoon sunshine (between 3 and 5 individuals, all in excellent condition). There were also several COMMAS, exceptional numbers of LARGE WHITE (100+, especially in the meadow on the right of the track up from Hale Lane), ESSEX, LARGE and SMALL SKIPPERS, SMALL WHITES, a few worn GREEN-VEINED WHITES, a SMALL COPPER, 15+ MARBLED WHITES, several MEADOW BROWNS and very large numbers of RINGLETS.

CHILTERN HILLS

A singing male YELLOWHAMMER was on the wires by 'Brunsgreen Cottage' at SP 901 062

THE LEE

Highlight in this very picturesque village was a pair of SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS with 2-3 fledged young in trees opposite the church (at SP 899 044) and adjacent to 'The Olde Cottage' garden, where possibly they bred.

Late Afternoon at Marsworth

The four adult COMMON SHELDUCKS eventually flew off at 06:50; returning from the hide as soon as they saw me appear by the old overflow they upped and went.

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER still at Marsworth late this afternoon, not far from where you park the car, also a Western Reed Warbler feeding in the trees nearby. Female Red-crested Pochard on Marsworth but no sign of its hybrid duckling (Dave Bilcock)

COMMON SHELDUCKS

This morning there were four adult COMMON SHELDUCKS on the mud between the hide and the old overflow on Wilstone Reservoir. They flew 'off' several times and returned, but finally went off east at 0706 hours (Dave Bilcock/Roy Hargreaves)

COMMON TERN ringing in Buckinghamshire in 2009

Common Tern Ringing in Buckinghamshire 2009

College Lake
23 Chicks ringed - BTO ring on left leg, black over white colour ring on right leg
8 large chicks not ringed and 3 chicks too small to ring

3 x scrapes with 2 eggs and 1 x scrape with 3 eggs

This is similar to last year when we ringed 26 chicks plus there were another two that were too big

Wilstone
13 chicks ringed - BTO ring on left leg, black over white colour ring on right leg
5 small chicks

3 scrapes with 3 eggs, 3 x scrapes with 2 eggs and 1 scrape with 1 egg and one of the small chicks

This is up on last year when 7 chicks were ringed and there were 2 small chicks, 2 dead chicks and 4 x scrapes with 2 eggs in each

Little Marlow
22 chicks ringed - BTO ring on left leg, light blue over yellow colour ring on right leg
6 eggs; 4 dead
Highest number ringed in the last 7 years

Calvert BBOWT
8 chicks ringed - BTO ring on left leg, white over orange colour ring on right leg (apparently the orange is difficult to see at a distance)
2 very small chicks

6 x scrapes with 3 eggs, 1 x scrapes with 2 eggs, 1 x scrape with 1 egg and 1 x scrape with 5 eggs!!

Last years attempt was aborted due to a hole in the wire fencing on the raft.

All sites were visited in the same week and a second visit made to Wilstone the following week
Although you might expect the colonies to be more or less at the same stage, these results suggest that College Lake and Little Marlow are the favoured sites which are colonised first, with Wilstone and Calvert a little way behind.

Please report any sightings of these or previously ringed Terns to myself (Calvert/Wilstone/College Lake), Mick McQuaid (Little Marlow) m.mcquaid@sky.com or Mike Collard (scheme co-ordinator) badgersinbucks@btinternet.com

We would like to thank Nancy Reed for allowing us to ring the terns at College Lake and for the help she and the assistant warden Stacey Hewitt gave us with ringing the chicks.

Also thanks to Tim Watts for assisting with the Calvert ringing effort and those folks involved with the Little Marlow ringing effort.

Mick A'Court
Secretary
Tring Ringing Group