The Tables have "Tern-ed"

Hello, hello!! Ferreting Fynn here. Today, I want to talk about how (for me personally) the tables have turned. You might know what I mean if you've seen my post on my twitter account, but for those who don't you'll just have to wait....

Last Tuesday, we headed down to Fairlands because someone had spotted a Common Tern, (or "Sea Swallow") and as we live only 3 mins away from it, we headed down. Last time we came to Fairlands as there was a Common Tern, we came back empty handed. This time though, we had hope as we were in prime season for Terns and when we checked on Herts bird club, it was the most resent sight. So, (after taking out the muffins we made from the oven) we set off. We parked in the smallest carpark ,as there is usually no other cars there, and already alone swallow was darting around, but no sign of the Tern.

As soon as the lake was on view, I saw a gull-like bird flying above the lake so I checked with my binoculars to see if it was the Tern and as luck would have it, there it was. As elegant as ever, maybe not as elegant as the Arctic Tern, but still elegant. We decided to rush back and get the camera, but then the heavens opened. That didn't stop us though, because we still went out with the camera. Sure it would get wet, but as long if we had the lens cap on it would be fine. The Common Tern was resting on a boi which gave us some great photo opportunities!! Whilst photographing, lots of Swallows were swooping around us and I thought I should try and get some pics, no biggy? WRONG!! It was hard!! Around half way through that, some sort of Martin joined the swallows and all flew to the neighbouring lake. That worked for us as there were trees that could shelter us and the camera, plus, I have got good shots from there. When we arrived, there were at-least 30 SWALLOWS darting round the lake!! I even saw some drink!! When they drink, they hover like a Kestrel and swoop down, or they just skim over the water like a skimming stone. I was keeping a sharp eye out for the Martin, when I saw a white rump on the back of a bird.

This was it, the Martin. Now all I had to do was to snap a close up of it and check if it was a Sand Martin or a House Martin.
It took AGES to get a decent photo of it!! Eventually, I got a decent picture and I instantly knew that it was a House Martin!! Another new bird for this year!! We kept watching the Swallows and the House Martin until we needed to go back home. Just coming back to the car park, a few Swallows were sort-of congratulating us? By swooping around us like fans or something? Either way I felt proud. Proud that we spotted one of the most elegant sea birds and an Urban version of the Swallow.

So, The tables have ''Tern-ed.'' For us personally and maybe we might of "Brent" the rules. Have a good one!! Stay Safe!!

Ferreting Fynn

It's "Dawning" on me!!

Hello, hello!! Ferreting Fynn here. Today, this post is about The Dawn Chorus, most people have probably heard of it, but never experienced it. Fortunately, my parents agreed that on Sunday at 4:30 AM, we would head to Oughtonhead Common. If you gave me one word to describe it this is it:

Enchanting

Recording of the dawn chorus

Last Sunday, we set out at 4:45 in the morning to Oughtonhead Common, as it is a lovely place and full of wildlife. Even when we pulled up we already were greeted by hundreds of bird songs, but I could only make out a few. As we were going down the path, we had to be very quiet as there were a few houses but after we had past the last house, we were free to talk. I checked the possible nesting site for the Kingfishers, but as we were still near the houses we hurried along. Already I could hear Blackcap, Blackbird and much more!! Further on we heard Reed and Sedge warbler and even caught glimpses of the Reed warbler and stunning views of the Sedge warbler!! As it was still early, and not much light, not much wildlife was on show. On the way to the chalky, I spotted the female Mandarin we tried to spot last month, making a very peculiar,"KRANK, KRANK KRANK" call. That's not one of my favourite songs in the Dawn chorus ;). At the Chalky, there was a female Mallard with chicks!! This is the second Mallard family I've seen this year but this time, there were only 2 chicks. So I wish this Mother Mallard good luck!!

As we went on, the bird song came down, as it had turned 6:00. Yet, there was lots of bird life coming out to play!! Take, for example, the lovely Common Whitethroat that was singing next to me, giving me some stunning views of it. It even had its bill stuffed with insects!! I had never been this close to a Whitethroat before, so I got my new camera out and took a couple of pictures. The pond that we went to last time had no newts but the usual Tadpoles, Lady's Smock and Pond snails. So we carried on. When we came to the gate that took us back to where we started, the Sedge Warbler was perched exactly where I could get a great picture of him!! He then moved to an even BETTER place, at the tip of a bush/tree in the reeds, where the morning light made the Sedge Warbler look superb. On the way back was when we got the faintest glimpses of the pair of reed warbler. If you want to go looking for reed warbler, early morning is the best time. By the time we got back to the car, it was only 6:47 in the morning, so I knew that today would be a long day...

I highly recommend you try this out, as you could see something special, and after that you deserve a full on British Breakfast. That's all I have to say for today, Have a good one!! Stay Safe!!

Ferreting Fynn.                                         

P.S I now have a Twitter Account, so check that out!!

A "Tad" more wildlife!!

Hello, hello!! Ferreting Fynn here!! Thankfully, this post is not about migrants it is about Amphibians and a few invertebrates. So, instead of a long intro, let's get ready to rumble!!

Last weekend, we went to Oughtonhead common, a large reserve with a chalk stream and wet grassland, but thats only a brief description as there's much much more there. I was very excited as I hadn't been there since March and I wanted to see how much had changed, also there are a pair of Kingfishers along the river and who knows? they could be Male and female and they might breed!! Anyway, let's get on with it. When we arrived at the Chalky, (A lagoon almost) lots lots of people had arrived before us with dogs and they wen't even social distancing!! So we turned round and headed to the grazing field as I wondered what wildlife would be there. When we came up to the gate, I could hear a bird that some reason sounded like a Redstart? So I scanned the nearby Hawthorn, only to see a Whitethroat!!  A large migrant warbler from southern Africa. This bird was new for this year, so we added it to our 200 bird year list.

Below the Hawthorn was a pond that we had never checked out before and as I could see tadpoles, I thought this pond could have some wildlife in it.

As we got closer, we saw HUNDREDS of tadpoles and even a few Great pond snails somehow clinging onto the water? Let me know in the comments if you know why. My dad spotted a flower on the opposite side of the pond and got out his phone to Identify it, but I told him that it was a lady's smock and even though I told him, he still did it. As I was looking in the weeds in the pond, something came up from the depths of the pond. It had a very flexible looking body, and I immediately shouted,"SMOOTH NEWT THERE!!!!" I was so excited because I'd never seen a newt before so I checked what species it was, because(unlike my parents when they saw newts and were kids) I just wanted to see if my ID skills were good enough and also because it may not be a smooth newt. We watch the newt for at least 15 minutes, until I spotted a great diving beetle diving deeper into the pond!! I was thrilled as they are almost impossible to see, and they are fascinating insects.

So, I think that experience was a win win!! 5 new species, that doesn't happen often!! So this is going to be a day I'll remember, the first time I saw a newt. That's enough from me, Have a good one!!
Stay safe!!

Ferreting Fynn

"Am-well" surprised!!

Hello, hello!! Ferreting Fynn here!! Today, remember how I was talking about migrants in my last post? Well this post is about more migrants we saw at Amwell nature reserve. I highly recommend this reserve as it does have some stunning species! From barn owls to bitterns and terns too little ringed plovers, it is a top spot for bird watching. Also being a great spot for passage migrants e.g black tern and little gull!! Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures so you may need to look up some of the birds we mention.

On Wednesday this week, we decided to walk our Grans dog as I mentioned in the post about the mandarin, she can't often go out. So we decided to take him to Amwell again as we have taken him there before. When we pulled up, I was feeling lucky on this trip because last time we went we really didn't see anything. Also we were looking out for the 2 little ringed plovers that had been sighted on the day we were going!! Walking by the canal, we kept hearing  Cetti's warbler " Chip, chip shop, chippy chip shop!!" My dad even tried to find the bird, even though I told him that they're almost impossible to spot. Further up the path, we saw 2 swallows together probably hunting, but that doesn't even match my experience at Fairlands. Finally, we made it to the viewing point.

There were lots of black headed gulls, of course, lots of various wildfowl, three Oystercatcher but no little ringed plovers. Probably about 30 mins into it, I could hear a very distinctive call of the sedge warbler but at the time, I didn't know if it was a sedge warbler or a reed warbler!! My strongest thought was that it was a sedge warbler as 2 were sighted last week, I put that to one side and carried on birding. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye, a swallow shaped bird flew onto the mudflat in front of us and I said softly yet very excited," Little ringed plover right there!!" As the scope was in front of me, I tried to angle the scope at the plover, but then another one flew in and I tried to angle it at the pair as they were close together. As they kept flying round the lake, I kept angling the scope at it/them, but half way through that, my dad said that he could see something flying in and out of the reeds near us. Eventually I did see something that looked like a sedge warbler (and I was about to find out I was right) then it darted to the nearby bush which I ran down the path to get a better view and even better, the path extended out almost into the bush so of course I went down there, got my bins out and there before me was a Sedge warbler. Even though I was about 3 metres away from him( I say him because he was singing really loud and probably trying to find a mate) he didn't even flinch!! I one time saw 2 sedge warbler feeding their young!! So I am well truly surprised.

Have a good one!! Stay safe!!

Ferreting Fynn. 

''Swallow'' my thoughts!!

Hello, hello!! Ferreting Fynn here. Today, I'd like to start off talking about migrants. Britain has many migrant birds, some are passage migrants others winter migrants and especially summer migrants. My first summer migrant I saw this year was a chiffchaff, a small dull yet noticeable green and pale bird, but the one I wait for each year is the Swallow also my favourite bird. The first place I saw these magnificent birds was somewhere close to home, which is what I what to talk about today.

A few days ago, we visited Fairlands valley park as earlier 10 swallows had been spotted and as we are doing my 200 bird year, we could add it to the list. We decided to park up by the main lake and instantly, 2 silhouettes flew across the lake. I could make out- very faintly- 2 tail streamers and one thought suddenly rushed through my brain... Swallow. I think I may of gotten a "bit" too exited and screamed SWALLOW!!!!!!! I jumped out the car and ran down to the neighbouring lake as that was the direction the swallows were going. When I arrived, I had a bit of a shock. Fairlands doesn't have all the fancy ducks like teal, gadwall, wigeon and shoveler. It only has Canada geese and mallards. Strangely, on the lake I ran to, were a pair of greylag geese and and shoveler!? I didn't care about that at the moment as I was mesmerised by the 11 swallows.

Swallows are my favourite bird for many reasons, one of them is the nest that they build. Made out of mud!! How many birds can do that after a 5,908 miles? Not many. I really enjoyed this moment and I always remember the day I saw my first swallow each year.

Have a good day!! Stay safe!!

Ferreting Fynn.

A "Single" Mandarin

Mandarin pair

Hello, hello!! Ferreting Fynn here. This is the day where I reveal the hiding spot of the Blackcap. If you haven't see the post of the blackcap don't worry!! Go back to my previous post (about the swift box) and try to spot it yourself, but before we do that, probably the most attractive British duck is on our 200 bird list.
On Friday 10th April, we had to walk my Gran's dog as she, like many others, can't often go out. So she recommended that we take him to Singlers marsh, which is not that far from her house. I'd been to Singlers marsh before and it is very wet grassland plus quite small. It took us probably 15 or so minutes to get round to the other side when I saw a silhouette of what I thought was a duck. It was a duck, but not any duck, a DRAKE Mandarin!! Instantly I said to my dad, " PUT THAT ON THE LIST!!" I think I got a bit to close and I scared the Mandarin, only to reveal ANOTHER Mandarin! A male and a female. This was the first time I'd ever seen a Mandarin and I was so happy! I figured that they could be a mating pair and I was trying to look for a hole in a tree trunk, because, like some other ducks, they nest in trees and the young are carried out of the tree on the females back. Also these wonderful ducks were introduced and escaped from zoos. What a wonderful sight!!

Fairlands Blackcap revealed 

In my last post, I gave you a task: Can you spot the Blackcap? It was in the middle of the photo and it is circled in pink. I haven't seen it since and if you did spot it well done! If you didn't, don't worry because they will be plenty more of these to come plus it was quite a bad photo.

That's enough from me! Have a good day and stay safe!!

Ferreting Fynn

"Swift" instalment!!

Swift box 

 Hello, hello!! Ferreting Fynn here and before we get started, I just want to say sorry for not posting anything for a while as they has been so much going on lately. Anyway, let's get cracking!!
 Recently, we have put up a swift nest box ( as you can see to your left) because each summer, we see swifts darting round the street so this year we decided to put one up. Unfortunately, swifts have declined by 60% and if you have swifts darting round your street try and put them up, yet it is not simple.

First off, you need to place it 5 metres above the ground and under a roof tile or like in our case, under the gutter (if this isn't clear to you, the RSPB have some websites that can help). We have already put up some other nest boxes in the garden, but I don't think we have got anything, and since the swifts mainly arrive in May you still have time to put up one yourself.

Fairlands Blackcap This photo here has a blackcap in it, but where is it? This was a male that was really belting out, which we added to our 200 bird list which we are taking part in still. Blackcap are just arriving from Europe and Africa but occasionally, some blackcap over winter. Last winter, a pair was over wintering at Harpenden, Herts. It was a lovely sight seeing the blackcap, and I'll give you a good tip for looking out for a blackcap: look high in the trees or bushes as the males are, at the moment, trying to attract the females so they perch high in the trees and start to belt out their song.

Can you find the blackcap? I'll tell you in the next blog.

Stay safe!!

Ferreting Fynn