GREYLAGS DROP IN

The first group of six greylag geese returned to the park's fields on Thursday 3rd after being away elsewhere during the breeding season. If previous autumns are anything to go by, numbers of greylags will build up to a hundred birds over the next couple of months and then they feed elsewhere for the winter.

The high spring tides in the last few days have brought more waders to roost at the main pool in the park's fields with a combined gathering of about 500 redshank and black-tailed godwits.

Two greenshank dropped briefly onto the pools but looked unsettled and were soon on their way again within five minutes. One of the birds pictured above.
Also a couple of snipe were feeding in the open and the ruff was back again on both Wednesday and Thursday. A whimbrel flew over the fields calling on Thursday.

The kingfisher was playing hide and seek at the park pond, where it was barely visible from the bird hide as it perched amongst the reedmace stems on Wednesday.
The following day it was seen flying south-west across the car park towards the Fen Farm saltmarsh.
Up to sixty little egrets have been roosting at the pond in the afternoons in the last few days.

The sunny morning on Wednesday provided good conditions for birds of prey especially the common buzzards. This image was a common buzzard that flew west past the pond where it headed towards a group of seven already circling in the sky to the north-west of the park. There were still seven buzzards in the sky an hour later but whether they were different birds or the same ones as earlier was difficult to say.
Later in the afternoon another common buzzard flew west over the park.

On Thursday late afternoon a female marsh harrier flew west over the grazing fields passing behind the pond. A short while later a common buzzard also crossed the grazing fields as if just arrived from the east, it appeared to land in the copse behind the pond upsetting the local magpies.

There was a mix of sunshine and showers on Wednesday afternoon with this rainbow appearing over the fields to the east.
Three garden warblers feeding in elder bushes near the hide are the most ever seen together here at the park. Also five blackcaps feeding along the hedges by the pond while 3 siskin flew over the hide in the morning.

Despite the northerly breeze, 100+ swallows were passing over the park along with 30+ house martins and a couple of sand martins.

The first large thorn moth of the season was found in the moth trap at the park after a trapping session during Tuesday night. It has become almost annual in the last few years.

The large thorn fluttered up to a tree where it hung obligingly upside down on this branch.

The square-spot rustics have just passed their peak for numbers. However one or two of them are still nicely marked like this one above with a rich brown colouration.

Amongst the other 35+ moths of 12 species were Chinese character, light emerald, latticed heath, white-point, large yellow underwing, setaceous hebrew character, straw underwing, flounced rustic, uncertain and snout.