May - Eeeegs! — Liddells

To appreciate fully and enunciate correctly the title of this month’ s Blog post, Clare and John refer you to the instructional video below, made on Easter Sunday 2019. Mathilda, a theatre practitioner suggests readers pay particular attention to the demonstration of the pantomime leg.

2nd May

A female blackbird is sitting on a nest in the old pony shelter. The nest is next to the one used last year and is bigger. There is a heap of unused nest material on the ground under the nest. The trail camera has just about captured the bird on the nest in spite of the poor light.

John began constructing a bridge over the stream from the spring in order to create a route for quad bike and trailer when removing wood from the Pit Wood.

John and Clare planted several trays of wildflower plugs grown from seeds given out at Juno’s third birthday party. They had grown the seeds at home and then preserved the resulting plants/seeds. The plugs were planted round the shepherd’s hut and on the Meadow.

The 2021 Blackbird nest dwarfing the 2020 prototype

3rd May

Although yesterday was International Dawn Chorus Day, Clare rose early this morning for a Liddells’ dawn chorus as her choir have traditionally sung in the Hexham bandstand on the morning of the first May Bank Holiday every year. The Thrushes nearly drowned out all the other birdsong. Most striking was the roe doe which seemed to be commenting on Clare’s early morning adventure. Clare was rewarded for her efforts with a view of a male Redpoll, a female Siskin and a Goldfinch of indeterminate sex, sharing a nyjer seed feeder.

5th - 9th May

Clare discovered a patch of Marsh Marigold in flower by the Alphabet bridge and Lady’s Smock out on the Wetland. Two Redpolls appeared on the nyjer seed feeder. Clare and John planted some English bluebells in the Pit Wood.

John completed the new bridge in the Pit Wood. Clare was quick to name it the Quadrilateral Bridge.

The trail camera has captured a roe buck in the act of anointing and scraping to mark his territory, and does in the process of losing their winter coats for the more richly red-brown summer coat.

The Scrub is also part of a badger’s territory. Occasionally something will trigger the trail camera but is too quick to appear in footage, however delightful snatches of birdsong are recorded. In the clip below you can hear Blackcap and Willow Warbler.

10th May

John decided to mark his birthday, as last year, with a nest box survey. He and Clare saw two hares and a Tawny Owl during this activity. Two Greylag geese were flying over the Wetland. More boxes have been used than in previous years with signs of activity in 18 of the 33 boxes. Two appear to have wrens’ nests. Eight boxes have eggs/birds sitting. Not all the started nests will be used as males will make or start building several nests from which the female will choose one in which to lay. The Barn owl seems to have decided against the box on the Wetland.

Clare noticed Stitchwort and Forget-me-not out in the Top Strip.

11th - 15th May

It’s never anything other than a delight to see a hare. This one pauses for refreshment in the Scrub. Clare heard then saw a Whitethroat singing in the Scrub. This is a first for Liddells. John and Clare hope it will stay as they are faithful to their territory.

Clare found Wood rush in flower on the Top Grazing.

As does the Thrush (Chiffchaff and Chaffinch singing in the background).

Field Wood-rush: luzula campestris, also known as Good Friday Grass and Sweep’s Broom — Field Wood-rush: *luzula campestris,* also known as Good Friday Grass and Sweep’s Broom

15th May

Another bird first - after several visits to the feeders from a male Greenfinch this Spring, John and Clare were delighted to see a pair today. The male was ringed though not with a ring that could be read with binoculars.

16th May

Keith (HWKNEAN) generously offered another annual breeding bird survey. Numbers/species proved to be pretty consistent with previous years with the delightful addition of a male Redstart in an Oak below the bee hives, quite close to where Keith, John and Clare had seen a family of Redstarts on the same survey a few years ago. Keith also noticed Hairy Wood-rush: luzula pilosa, in flower in the Top Strip. The survey can only give a partial assessment of bird numbers. This year, for example, Coal tits were noticeable by their absence during the survey, however many appear regularly at the feeders. A summary of the numbers appears on the Surveys page of the website.

The trail camera shows the deer losing yet more of their winter coats.

17th

The trail camera has revealed not a new kid, but a new buck on the block. John says it is likely to be a yearling displaced by its mother. The mother will be concentrating on this year’s offspring, due any day, and won’t want last year’s youngsters to be hanging around.

18th May

The Thrush in the Scrub has foraged with success.

19th May

There is a deer call that John has known about but never heard in the field. He even has an artificial call that replicates the sound. The squeak is the sound made by a newly born kid to highlight its whereabouts to its mother. No kid has yet been seen on Liddells this year. The deer in the footage below is a buck, but not the animal making the sound, which is offstage but close by. John and Clare look forward to seeing the source of the squeak.

20th May

Readers may remember John’s learned comments on footage of the buck on Liddells in last month’s Blog explaining how a young buck holds its head higher than an older one, and has a thinner neck, suggesting the buck in question is young, the footage below seems to suggest the buck has aged rather quickly. The buck’s neck appears thickset and it is certainly holding its head quite low.

John has given himself more time with his camera and is now hoping to photograph wildflowers as they come into bloom on Liddells. Birds remain photogenic.

21st May

John has provided more evidence of the popularity of Clare’s peanut butter bird paste among the Liddells avian community.

22nd May

John and Clare freed a well-established donated Oak from its cage. They also planted two newly donated Oaks from Sue D, one of which has been grown by a friend of hers from an acorn from the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest. The wire caging somewhat compromises the photographs, however readers can be assured the saplings are well protected.

Clare cut Yellow Rattle turves to give to Keith and to plant round the shepherd’s hut. John made a bird feeders post for the shepherd’s hut enclosure.

Lady’s mantle is in flower near the hives. Clare noticed a single lady’s smock in flower on the island in the Big Pond. Eyebright has flowered on the Top Grazing.

23rd May

John and Clare carried out the second nest box survey. This time 13 boxes had either birds sitting or hatched chicks. The Blackbird is still sitting on the nest in the shed. You can see a summary of both of this year’s surveys here.

Shuna, Peter and family visited Liddells. Eliot and Nicholas enjoyed seeing how the trees they had helped to plant last year had grown. Clare found Garlic mustard growing in the Pit Wood, a plant she cannot recall seeing on Liddells before. Sweet woodruff is out on the far north-west corner of the Pit Wood.

24th May

John saw swallows over the Top Grazing for the first time this year. They have returned about a month later than last year.

John and Clare left the trail camera focussed on a nest box where Blue tits had chicks. The footage showed that between 08.20 and 18.52, the adult birds made 357 visits to the box. Visits lasted approximately 10 seconds. The time between visits was usually between 2-3 minutes, although there were 12 gaps that varied between 5 and 14 minutes. Presumably this was when the adult birds were taking a breather and foraging for their own food.

25-26th May

Mel has kindly donated another Field Maple that he had grown. John and Clare planted near the first one on the Top Grazing, reusing the fencing from the uncaged Oak in the Top Strip.

John and Clare are used to finding smashed Pheasants’ eggs on Liddells, however there have been more broken eggs from different nest, pointing to raids by corvids.

27th May

It is time for the annual attempt to unmake mountains out of all the molehills on the Top Grazing. John and Clare worked hard at this and were able to use some of the soil to fill the craters made by removing boulders earlier this year.

Clare replaced the warning signs near the Aconites in the Pit Wood and was rather pleased with the effect of the canes marking each plant.

More wildflowers are coming into flower.

Tim met John while he was doing his weekly butterfly survey and suggested that John keep his eyes open for Pearl-bordered fritillaries. Sure enough, John saw one on a stone in the Top Grazing. No camera to hand.

Water crowfoot with Broad-leaved pondweed below

28th May

Clare heard a Mistle thrush singing in the Top Strip. It sounded very close however remained out of sight.

29th May

Oak-apple Day. ‘Oak apple’ is today’s OED Word of the Day : ‘A roughly spherical type of oak gall; spec. the reddish spongy gall formed in leaf-buds by the developing larvae of a gall wasp (family Cynipidae: in Europe Biorhiza pallida; in America Amphibolips confluenta).’

30th May

Chris B arrived with a digger to help make a couple of tracks safer for quad bike use. The path near the spring was particularly difficult as it is almost permanently wet. Even Hal, who has years of experience driving up muddy hills in Classic Trials and winning many awards for so doing, found this one tough. The trick to his success - “You just have to commit!” Chris may have solved the problem by digging out a ditch that should take the water away from the track.

Chris also made short shrift of moving the boulders off the Top Grazing. John said he could have spent all day watching Chris manipulate the boulders with such apparent delicacy.

John decided this was to be the flail mower’s first outing. He was really pleased with how much of the paths he was able to mow in a much less time than it would have taken with the strimmer.

Clare completed the molehill flattening. While working she noticed that there are more patches of Daisies and Common Field Speedwell and many more Lady’s smock plants than in previous years. It could be the effect of cutting for hay followed by grazing last year.