Heathland Habitat At Home

In the last couple of years we've been blessed with Nightjars on patch, thanks to the clearance of a load of larch near Morganhayes Wood. Usually I advocate leaving trees and woodlands as they are, but this has proved such a positive bit of habitat restoration - even though this wasn't the intention! 

Not only have Nightjars moved in, but for the second year there's singing male Tree Pipit here (haven't seen a pair yet unlike last year but she could be sitting), and this year a family of Stonechat.  There were also a few Willow Warblers singing yesterday and they certainly wouldn't have been there if it was still a larch plantation. The surronding conifers still hold several Siskins, and yesterday I was surprised to see a flock of eight Crossbill fly over before landing near where I had parked my car.  Seeing as they were so scarce last autumn and during the winter I don't think they have bred here, but more likely my first autumn migrants.... (yes that's me wishing this cold and windy summer away already!).

It was nice to see two baby Tawny Owls as well making a right racket and looking pretty clumsy. Typically I didn't have my camera with me though...

Insects Save Otherwise Photo-less Post!

Beer Head showed a bit more variety this morning, with the bushes giving me my first Garden Warbler of the autumn, two Whitethroat, three Blackcap and 15 Willow Warbler. Two Wheatear were the only birds of note in the open areas.  It was nice to see a Wall Brown whilst wandering around - this is one of the few places left on patch where you can see this species...

Showed well too!

I also saw my first Clouded Yellows of the year today, with two at Lower Bruckland Ponds. They didn't stop moving though, and when one did it was playing hide and seek...

Peek-a-boo!

The reason for my visit to Lower Brucklands was to look for Small Red-eyed Damselflies. Sadly there is almost no suitable habitat for them on the ponds now, with a distinct lack of floating vegetation. There's just one small pond which does have lily pads and weeds, and after a short while I eventually spotted a single male. Only the one though...

Hang in there buddy!

To get this post back to bird news - the female Tufted Duck remains here.

Mid morning I had a look around the marshes, with the highlight being a Wood Sandpiper on Colyford Marsh scrape, along with a Greenshank and two Green Sands.  The Wood Sand appeared only for a couple of minutes, had a preen and wing stretch, then flew off NW. Good chance it was a new bird as I don't think the two last week have been seen all weekend? I may be wrong though.

On Black Hole Marsh there's now 40 Black-tailed Godwit, the Ruff still, but much smaller numbers of Dunlin and Ringed Plover than last week. 

And that's that short post done and dusted. Hope to give Beer Head another look in the morning - I want a Whinchat...