Now, which passerine (small) bird had the most breeding territories in Paxton Pits Nature Reserve last year and which bird was it 20 years ago? You may already know, particularly if you came to the talk at the Visitor Centre last week. More clues later.
What signs of Spring have you seen? I saw my first queen bumblebee of the year yesterday. If the weather stays mild, I am sure she is going to stay active and fatten up with the availability of food from the early flowers, such as snowdrops, crocus and mahonia. Have a walk down the Meadow Trail, the Bullace tree is full of white blossom. Today on the reserve, I saw one of my favourite fungi- the scarlet elf cup.
We also saw some very interesting displaying on the WeBS count yesterday. It was a very different duck count from January. For some reason that day, they had come to Paxton. There were well over a 1000 wigeon on the reserve, many of these on the Heronries. Over a 1000 teal were counted through a telescope up on Pumphouse East. That was quite a feat! Yesterday, there were 2 wigeon on the Heronries! And it was a much easier teal count of 6 on Pumphouse East. The goosander are staying around with 2 female and one male seen on Diddington Pit.
Our resident kingfishers were much in evidence. A group of bird watchers saw one from the Bus Stop, as we walked past, and then we saw 2 at the Kingfisher Hide.
Then, on the return to the Bus Stop to do our count, we saw some interesting displaying, or were they doing more than that? I was checking the edges of the Heronry South for hidden ducks when I saw 2 flashes of blue, on the water’s edge in the same view-yes more kingfishers. They took it in turns to fly up the bank about a metre. Were they displaying or starting to make a nest hole? I did a google search afterwards and read that the male usually makes the hole over a 2-week period. It does seem rather early. If you can answer my question, I would love to know. I have a very bad video through the scope! We watched them for ages until they flew off for a rest.
We also saw a large flock of lapwing fly over. Always pleasing to see.
Have you decided the top breeding passerines? A clue is that they both start with the same 2 letters. One is quite brightly coloured and the other has a song that tells you its name.
One of the reasons the number of duck were down on the WeBS count, may be because there is so much water around. The reserve is flooded again with Cloudy merging with Rudd Lake. The Heronry trail stops at the Moorings, unless you have waders!
Well, I was going to give you the answer about the breeding territories. However, I think I’ll leave that to next time or, if you cannot wait, email me on friends@paxton-pits.org.uk . You can also tell me about your sightings.
Best wishes
Ann Thomas