Centre for Birds

After a grey start the day turned out fine and sunny and quite bird filled. There were reports of 2 bittern and the great white egret was seen, although not as well or frequently as yesterday. The area around the Education Centre was particularly blessed, with a report of 3 waxwing flying over and all the usual birds at the feeders. A flock of long-tailed tit passed through and were typically hard to get a picture of, my best effort is below, presumably one of the birds ringed on the reserve recently.

However the highlight of the day was the great grey shrike that spent several minutes in the tops of trees just east of the Centre, although a bit distant, as I did not want to flush it, I am quite pleased with the picture I got of it.

Other reports today included 10 white-fronted geese flying over with a few greylag, although where they went is obscure as they were not on Ibsley Water as expected. A smew was again on Rockford Lake an adult Caspian gull was seen on Ibsley Water in the afternoon, although it was not obvious at the end of the day.

Although not rare the number of shoveler feeding near the Ivy South hide is impressive and they are giving a great opportunity to see them feeding cooperatively. Usually in pairs they feed by circling so that each is feeding in the water disturbed by the paddling feet of the other.

I put up a number of tit nesting boxes today, all near the dormouse boxes we put up earlier, the idea being to try and reduce the number of dormouse boxes that get nesting blue tit in instead. When in the area cleared of rhododendron this winter I came across a patch of snowdrops, now well in flower. These snowdrops may well have been planted during WW2, when several patches around the airfield, that used to occupy the space where Ibsley water is now, were tended as small gardens by off-duty RAF men.

Make Mine a Mocha

More overnight easterly winds promised more migrant moths, despite a rather cold night. The trap did not disappoint with a rush veneer and much rarer a Blair's mocha. Both species are pretty small and look as though they would be weak fliers, but they make long distance flights all the same. The Blair's mocha is below, not a spectacular species, although this one shows little signs of wear despite presumably having flown a long way.
Also in the trap was a scarce umber, the first of the season. In all species males tend to be more common at light than females, but in this case it is only ever males that come as the females are flightless.

The black tern that was first seen on Sunday was again present over Ibsley Water and the great white egret was also about again today. On Ivy Lake a mandarin drake was of interest partly because it was not one of the four that were around last week. At the end of the day a dunlin, a green sandpiper and a variety of gulls were on Ibsley Water. These gulls included at least 4 common gull, 4 yellow-legged gull and most interesting of all a second winter Caspian gull. I did get a poor, long-range picture of the last. It is just about possible to make out the rather small, round, white head, long bill and overall different shape of the bird.