Thursday, 18 June 2009

A further QUAIL feast

THURSDAY 18 JUNE

A fine day but quite blustery, with moderate cloud cover and slightly below average temperatures. Dry.

EYEWORTH - ASHWELL ROAD (HERTFORDSHIRE)

*YELLOW WAGTAIL (2 adult males carrying food - presumably to nearby nests - from manure heap just north of Kirby Manor Farm, with a further male - again carrying food - on the 'Midden' manure piles at TL 262 420)
LESSER WHITETHROAT (singing male at Mobb's Hole)
CORN BUNTING ( singing male just north of Kirby Manor Farm - TL 263 425 - with another at the 'Midden')
REED BUNTING (singing male in cereal crop opposite Kirby Manor Farm)
Rook (243 at The Midden) Jackdaw (68 at The Midden)

ASHWELL MANURE PILE (TL 252 383)

A further 3 adult male YELLOW WAGTAILS busily gathering food and flying off into cereal crope.

WALLINGTON (HERTS) (1300-1600 hours)

Joined Dave Holman, Christine Stean, Baz Harding and others at the popular COMMON QUAIL site. Throughout the afternoon, up to SIX different males were calling from the barley and at 1545 hours, spectacular full 'scope views of one particular male was obtained as he stood right out in the open and threw back and forth his head calling loudly. A second bird also visited the track briefly. The birds really do see the track as their territorial border and seem happy to explore its virtues, frequently visiting it during the day to pronounce their presence. This really is an opportunity of a lifetime and exceptionally unusual for this generally highly secretive species.


A female MARSH HARRIER was also present in the area for her second day, along with a HOBBY, 5 Common Buzzards, 9+ CORN BUNTINGS, 15 Eurasian Skylarks, pair of Red-legged Partridge, 6 Barn Swallows, 3 Brown Hares and 2 playful Red Fox cubs.

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