The usual reminder - in order to view the video footage, go the the Blog page of the website: www.liddells.co.uk
1st May
Sadly the ducks’ nest has been raided; ducks and eggs have gone. Possible culprits are herons, foxes, magpies, crows, rooks, jays and squirrels.
3rd May - 4th May
Clare was intrigued to see evidence of considerable disturbance of moss on the Crag. She wondered whether it was caused by birds finding nesting material, however the disturbance seemed on too big a scale for that to be the reason. She set up a trail camera and waited. Resulting footage suggested at first that Pheasants were responsible and maybe a Song Thrush; there is a clip of a Red-legged Partridge although the evidence is insufficient for an arrest in this case, however further footage showed a couple of Jays flinging the moss around with abandon.
Two clips of bucks from the camera behind the bee shed show the old buck still in winter coat, while one of the younger bucks shows more of his summer coat.
4th May
While John worked on one of the strainers for a gate post, Clare repaired the wire damaged by the sheep grazing on the Meadow.
More plants coming into flower; today Clare added Field Wood-rush, Bugle, Bluebell, Lady’s Mantle (the wild version is lower-growing than the one you see in gardens), Stitchwort, Marestail; there is blossom on pear and apple trees, and the Wild Service trees are in leaf. Here is a selection of those and a photo that suggests the young bucks are no longer in velvet.
5th May
Clare supported International Dawn Chorus Day with an early visit to Liddells and discovered why we have the phrase ‘up with the lark’. Skylarks were singing before dawn in the neighbouring field and there were a few lapwing calls as well. The blackbirds and robins began singing at about twenty-five past four and were soon joined by thrushes, wood pigeons, wrens and the warblers; last to sing were the titmice. Keith told his bird-watching group that the birds with the largest eyes sing first and they are after the worms that emerge early in the day. Clare was also entertained by a roe deer barking during her visit; as the light came up she could see it was the pregnant doe. (You may need the volume on the highest setting for the video.)
Thank you to Jean for offering a quote from Tom Stoppard: ‘How beautiful the dawn is. If only it did not occur so early in the day.’
7th May
Ribwort Plantain is in flower on the Hayfield and the Wildflower Meadow. The Wildlife Trusts’ website notes that Ribwort Plantain is the subject of a game that's similar to conkers - children pick the stems and knock the flower heads together, battling it out to see whose head drops off the stem first. Clare recently read Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent and in it Judi Dench quotes part of a song from Cymbeline:
‘Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers come to dust…’
Dench says these chimney-sweepers ‘are those reeds - I think they’re called ribwort plantain - which have a brown nobbly bit at the end. If you pick them and bend the stalk round the neck, you can go ‘phwat’ like that and shoot off the head, and all the seeds burst away like dust. I do it all the time when I find them. I can’t resist it.’
Clare noticed recent fraying on the protection around a Small-leaved Lime; happily the protection has proved effective as the tree itself is untouched.
7th May
Ruth completed the first of her breeding season ringing sessions. She ringed 33 birds in total and the species list is: Blackbird, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chaffinch (unringable, diseased legs), Bullfinch. She sent a photo of a Garden Warbler adding the birders joke about the species - ‘their Latin name is Sylvia Borin, because they are boring.’
This is a male Garden Warbler identified as in breeding condition because of the cloacal protruberence (not visible in the photo and recorded as CP in the ringing records. Females in breeding condition have a visible brood patch, recorded as BP).
Speaking of breeding, there is much activity in the North-east Strip, in the very first nesting box John and Clare put up. It is being used by Coal Tits. One of the trail cameras has recorded footage of one of the birds leaving with what is probably fecal matter, keeping the box clean; a bird arrives with food and then leaves; a bird arrives with what looks like a St Mark’s fly and leaves without depositing it inside and then is followed by a Blue Tit having a very good look inside the box, maybe with a view to a takeover; the last clip in this series shows a Coal Tit with another large insect - the bird seems very hesitant about taking it into the box, however it seems to do so in the end.
8th - 12th May
Clare inspected all three bee hives and found that two of the queens had upped their laying rate. Clare added supers to all three hives to provide more space - the bees can use the super to store nectar and pollen, leaving the frames in the brood box for the brood. There is a queen excluder fitted between the two boxes so that the queen remains in the lower chamber. On her way back to the Hayfield, Clare disturbed a Tawny Owl twice in the Scrub.
John and Clare marked John’s birthday with a nesting box survey. They found 9 occupied with either eggs or sitting birds and nesting material in a further 11.
The Oaks are coming into leaf and Germander Speedwell has found its way through the stones in the top roadway. Tormentil is coming out everywhere and the Water Violets are looking splendid on the Big Pond. Large Red Damselflies, often the first to be seen in Spring, are emerging and flying.
The two young bucks who were captured sparring last month appear one after the other in the Scrub and seem to still be wary of each other.
The old buck seems contemplative in the Scrub; his summer coat is now coming through; he seeme to check out a twig for scent marking.
John and Clare both did some preparatory work for a group visit.
A badger appears on the Crag.
13th May
Members from the Wildlife group of the local U3A came for an afternoon visit. Clare had given the group a talk about Liddells earlier in the year and this was a follow-up. The visit went well - hares appeared and the big pond offering sightings of damselfly nymphs and, for one half of the group, a couple of newts close to the surface. Jenni L sent a collage of some of her photographs of the visit. The newt is bottom left.
More footage of a Thrush on the Crag.
15th May
Ruth completed another ringing session. She said it was quieter than the first, however her highlights were 2 more Garden Warblers, 3 more Long-tailed Tits a Song Thrush and the first juvenile - a Blackbird. She also heard a Yellowhammer for the second time (Clare has noticed two singing in the last few days and has seen one in an Ash tree on the west boundary which has been used as a Yellowhammer perch for the last few years.) Ruth also heard Linnets so is hoping one might appear in her nets. She sent these photos and thought the Blue Tit was ‘rather grumpy looking’!
17th May
A young doe appears in the Scrub. She could either be the one that had a single doe kid last year and therefore might be pregnant again, or she could be the kid that is now a yearling and unlikely to be pregnant. Neither has been seen for a while. Later in the day one of the younger bucks appears in the Scrub.
18th May
Clare arrived early to conduct the annual breeding bird survey. With the tree foliage well advanced the survey is primarily a listening exercise and the listener can never be sure whether the same bird is heard in more than one place, however the survey gives a snapshot. The first treat was seeing a Tawny Owl perched on Sycamore branches in the Top Strip and clearly visible. During the survey Clare noticed that she heard no Goldfinches, Siskins, Willow or Long-tailed Tits and no Goldcrests, although all have been seen recently. The most numerous songsters seemed to be Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs (13 apiece), followed by Blackbirds and Chaffinches. You can see the full result on the Surveys page of the website.
Clare tackled a long neglected patch of wall repair in the Top Strip. There was plenty of evidence that deer were using the damaged area as a place to jump in and out of the land.
With the stone back in place, Clare checked all the nest boxes again to see whether any with material were now in use. She found Great Tit nestlings in one box. She also noticed that Yellow Rattle, Sorrel and Pig nut were all flowering.
19th May
The Large Red damselflies are being joined by Azures.
A different buck appears in the Scrub. He looks young although his antlers are well developed.
20th May
In the early hours of the morning the old buck is captured chasing the new buck. While the old buck seems to be tolerating the two younger ones, probably sired by him, this new one is one buck too many.
Ruth arrived with her mentor to conduct the first of her nest box ringing sessions. She began with the Coal Tits in Box 1, however when she opened the box where Clare had seen the Great Tit nestlings, the box was empty. It had been predated, possibly by a weasel or a mouse.
25th May
Ruth conducted her second breeding season survey and ringed 30 birds including a number of new Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs, a baby Robin and a new female breeding Goldcrest.
Clare and John have been away bird-watching and delighting in seeing three species for the first time - Stone Curlews, a Wood Lark and several Hobbies. Neither of the two cameras in use had much footage of particular interest on their return, and frustratingly the batteries in the camera aimed on nest box 1 had run down so there is no footage if the Coal Tits have fledged.
26th May
The younger doe appears again in the Scrub. Her summer coat is now much more evident. She may be pregnant. John and Clare are hoping the trail cameras will capture footage of any new kids which could be born at any time now.
31st May
John and Clare came up to have a final check on the trail cameras before the deadline for the Blog. Sadly box 1 seems to have been predated. Ruth’s mentor said that with so much bad weather more nestlings may have died beacuse the adult birds have been unable to go and find sufficient food. The bad weather may have contributed to fewer boxes being used this year; conditions have made it harder for birds to breed.
More plants in flower, Clare noticed Ragged Robin, Bush Vetch, Red Campion and some White Bugle.
Large Red, Azure and Common Blue damselflies on the Big Pond and a male Broad-bodied Chaser was flying around the roadside pond and perched for just long enough for Clare to grab a quick snap with her phone - not the best quality however it was delightful to see the dragonfly season progressing.
Happily the hares seem to have bred successfully - the trail camera in the Pit Wood has captured several clips of what are clearly leverets. Here are two of those clips, delightful scenes to end the month.
Readers may remember that the Wildlife Trusts encourage as many people as possible to undertake a 30 Days Wild in June, engaging with nature in some way or other during the coming month.