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| route to hide on an April morning |
April at last! A beautiful sunny day with some strange cloud formations and a strong south-easterly wind. Once more I could hear Chiffchaffs as I entered the reserve at about 09.20 and I had several sightings of them during the morning. Here is what else I saw:
Birds:
SC209693 female Chaffinch carrying a feather in its beak; Woodpigeon flying over; Robin.
SC209694 Blue Tit investigating nest box; 4 x Magpie in tree; Chiffchaffs in willows near the dragonfly pond & willow near the path junction; Blue Tit preening in tree; male Chaffinch ; 2 x Goldfinch flying over; Woodpigeon; Buzzard; Robin.
SC209695 3 x Mallards flying over.
SC208695 (on or near feeders) 2 male and 1 female Chaffinch; female Pheasant; Great Tit; Goldfinch x 2; Dunnock.
SC208695 ( elsewhere) 5 x Goldfinch in tree together; 2 x Buzzard circling above.
SC208694 male and female Chaffinch together; Chiffchaff heard not seen; Great Tit; Blue Tit; Long Tailed Tit; 3 x Jackdaw flying over; House Martin flying over.
Butterflies:
Peacock seen at SC208694, SC208695 and SC209695 ( possibly the same one)
Other:
SC209694 2 x 7-spot Ladybirds
SC209694 2 x Pond Skater
SC209694 Tadpoles
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| the black dot is a Buzzard - but what strange clouds! |
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| composite picture of the Buzzard |
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| Buzzard seen later elsewhere over the Reserve |
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| Chiffchaff near the dragonfly pond |
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| Chiffchaff near the path junction |
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| a decapitated Blue Tit? ! |
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| it was just preening! |
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| Dunnock |
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| female Chaffinch |
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| Blue Tit enjoying peanuts |
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| Goldfinch |
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| it was part of a small flock in a tree |
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| Robin singing from near Ginnie's Bench |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Peacock butterfly on Marsh Marigolds near the Boardwalk |
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| possibly the same one near the Bowman bench |
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| Pond Skater at the dragonfly pond |
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| tadpoles were swimming about there |
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| Ballachurry's frogs of the future! |
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| 7-spot Ladybird |
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| there were 2 of them |
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| Blackthorn still in blossom |
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| Marsh Marigolds now in flower in the middle of the meadow |
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| cultivated daffodils |
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| Looking towards the bridge |
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| Hawthorns near the bridge |
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| Looking towards the compost heaps |
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| looking through the willows |
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| new reeds should be emerging soon |
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| usual view towards the boardwalk |
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| and looking back along it |
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| usual view from the boardwalk |
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| usual view of the hide |
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| and from the ramp |
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| through the shutters |
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| very low water level now |
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| the dragonfly pond |
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| taken from near the bench at the dragonfly pond |
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| looking along the gorse boundary |
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| just look at that blue sky! |
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| near Ginnie's bench |
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| near the path junction |
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| the damp meadow |
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| another view of the meadow |
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| strange cloud formations |
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| a final glance before heading home for lunch |
