Sparrowhawk makes a splash

Yesterday, at the back of the garden, I cut-back an overgrown Blackthorn tree that had smothered one of the ponds. I cut it back heavily to let in some light, but I left one branch to over-hang the pond. I figured it would be good for Sparrowhawks and possibly Kingfishers. At the time Sian chuckled at this...
..so today, cleaning our mountain bikes on the deck 130 feet away from the pond, a superb male Sparrowhawk took to trying out the new perch - as predicted!. We all watched it from some distance, as it seemed very inquisitive about the pond itself. To our pleasure it dropped down onto the pond edge. I made my way down the garden and spotted the bird again this time leg deep in water. From behind a small conifer and armed with my new camera, I used the flip down LCD screen whilst taking pictures with the camera high above my head. I got a few lucky pics, but frustratingly the exciting ones of the bird bathing were partly obscured by garden foliage in the path of my lense.  But, never mind, I'm convinced of the attraction of my designer perch, and hope we'll have the Sparrowhawk back again soon.

Juvenile Gannet sits it out at Dungeness

 
My first early morning birding trip down to Dungeness point for sometime was, I hoped, going to be a morning of rich pickings. However, the morning soon turned out to be dominated by just one lonesome and magnificent juvenile Gannet.

Walking the shingle ridge by the the fishing boats, there wasn't a great deal to see - just a dozen or so Gannets closely following a group of Porpoises was the only interest. But walking on, and in my path with camouflaged brown plumage and sleeping posture, a solitary Gannet awaited me. I wasn't far from nearly walking straight into it before it raised its ruffled head and stopped me in my tracks.

The young Gannet appeared weak and was going nowhere and I felt concerned for the bird's safety - especially as it wasn't going to be long before Saturday morning dog walkers would be wandering across the shingle ridges.

I sat with the bird for some time taking pictures and contemplated what I was going to do with it next. Looking back behind me a small group of fisherman were having breakfast on the beach after a long night's fishing. They kindly gave me an 8oz Whiting which I offered to the starving Gannet. As I approached the bird, holding the fish out, it immediately started begging for food with its beak open wide. Down dropped the Whiting, head first, swallowed in one move. I then offered Squid and Mackerel to the Gannet, neither of which it would swallow.

I decided that now with some food down it's neck I'd try and float it back to sea. With the help of a friendly visitor to Dungeness we caught the bird, clasped its beak tightly and took it down to the shoreline. Despite an incoming tide, our lonesome Gannet was quickly swimming out to sea and out of harm's way. In fact, within a minute, it was just a speck in the distance and back in the company of a passing party of feeding Gannets.

Interestingly, last weekend, 200 miles up in the North Sea and, to be more precise, in the Humber Estuary, my sister and birding buddies watched a large group of juvenile Gannets unusually flying off-course and close to the Humber Bridge.

Story and excellent photographs here:
http://pewit.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bridge-gannets.html

Turtle Doves - one month in the garden

Turtle Dove pair, Shadoxhurst, Kent, June 2012

On a gloomy wet day exactly a month ago, a pair of Turtle Doves dropped down onto the lawn to join our local Wood pigeons, Collared Doves and finches for some loose bird seed - (coincidentally bought the same day).  That such a scarce bird would visit our garden seemed incredulous at the time.

Since then we've put plenty more seed down to entice them back again, and we've not been disappointed, with the birds making 3 to 4 visits a day. Turtle Doves, just like their commoner cousins can't resist a crop full of seed!

Like Collared Doves, if you can sit still in the garden (on those rare days when you can), the Turtle Doves will join you, and forage around the lawn, all be it at an arm's length. They are easily flushed though, a reflection on a window, a mad teenager zooming up and down on a mountain bike, any activity in a neighbours' garden, all will keep the birds away.

In the garden, they look half the size of a Wood Pigeon and significantly smaller than the Collared Doves too.  They prefer to stay in shade and dappled light and feed with their bodies low and horizontal to the ground.

As the weeks have gone by, we've been expecting great things from our star Doves, as we believe they're breeding not too far away. When the birds first appeared they were always close together, following each other around the lawn, and if disturbed, both flying away very close to each other too.

After the fourth day visit, the birds were shamelessly mating on the lawn in the same fashion as your typical feral pigeon does in the town park! Following that day, for two weeks, the birds have been alternating time in the garden to feed up on seed.

For the last week, both birds have again occasionally visited together, leading us to think that perhaps that there are some fledglings not too far away. Could it be possible that we will have a family of Turtle Doves together in the garden - perhaps the coming week will have the answer.

Slightly Bluish Crown - identifies the male bird (above and 2 images below)

The female bird has a browner plumage and a yellow tip on the bill - otherwise its hard to separate the two birds

Marbled White Butterfly - in evening summer light

 Marbled Whites do not have a particularly long summer life on the wing, so with poor weather predicted for the week ahead, and still feeling inspired by the Wild flowers, and the evening light (after heavy showers) I decided on a quick late visit back to Orlestone forest.

Marbled Whites & Small Skippers - sun basking in Orlestone

In contrast to record-breaking rain over much of the UK, down here in South Kent, we've had a touch of summer including some hot humid weather with hours of sunshine lasting long enough to almost forget how bad the weather has been.
Such weather has allowed some of our Butterflies to have been able to put on a good show, in particular, the very beautiful Marbled White. Just on the edge of the village in flower-rich hay fields backing onto Orlestone forest, we've found a favored field for a large number of Marbled Whites to sun-bath the afternoon and then the evenings away.
Reference guides show the female Marbled White as having a cream tinge to to the underwing, and thats dificult to see in these images as the light was warm and low in the sky at the time, however the bottom butterfly does look more strikingly marked so we can assume this is the male.

Marbled Whites,  Orlestone Forest 7.30pm  July 6th

The same fields had good numbers of Meadow Brown Butterflies and just a few exquisite Small Skippers (pictured below). Returning back to the same fields this morning, and it was a different scenario, still warm but damp and overcast to. In fact the only insects to see and feel where Mosquitos. Back in Birchett Woods, a Lesser Spotted woodpecker was calling against a surprisingly strong chorus of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler and Blackcap. A family party of Bullfinches was also present.

The lid on local Nightjars

My lads, now15 and 13, through semi-forced bird and wildlife watching, have grown up with a good knowledge of wildlife sights and sounds they'll never forget. For now though, they don't really join me on plods around Orlestone forest, unless it involves taking a mountain bike. But, it's not a problem, they spotted the Kites back in May, they know the call of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a purring Turtle Dove, and the churring call of the Nightjar.

The Nightjar once heard never forgotten, is a bird we used to take our boys down to Orlestone forest in their toddler years right-up to 2008 to see and hear. Then, a quick walk along the trails of Birchett Wood or just a short stop in Fags Wood car park would guarantee Nightjars. But now I've not heard one for three years. I could just be unlucky, but it feels to me like they've gone.
 Last night, in still muggy air, no Nightjars at all in the forest, and that would have been my fifth visit this year. Orlestone forest has benefited from some expansive spruce-fellling in recent years so certainly there is plenty of new habitat for them to recolonise. On the plus side, young Tawney Owls where calling across the forest, so there's evidence of a good breeding year for them at least.

Breeding Green Woodpeckers and Buzzard news

Probably with another week of hole confinement to endure, a family of Green Woodpeckers are being raised in Orlestone Forest. With a patchwork of Woodland, sheep pasture and grassland, Green Woodpeckers may well be our commonest Woodpecker in the Shadoxhurst/Woodchurch area.

Close-by, in woodland I've surveyed countless times throughout the spring, a thriving family of Buzzards finally made their presence known, and judging by their activity last weekend, may well now have left the nest.