I paid a visit to Marshside after work. There was a cool south easterly wind with a lot of cloud and some sunshine. The first bird I saw as I arrived was a Greylag Goose flying south. I did not manage much of a photo but it does at least make a memory shot.
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| Greylag Goose |
A few Jackdaws and Rooks were in a ploughed field and Linnet, Goldfinch and Whitethroat were all singing away. I could hear a Cuckcoo calling in the distance but moving closer. A female Mallard was in dyke with 9 ducklings. I hope that they all manage to do well.
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| female Mallard and ducklings |
The wind was keeping the temperature down and I did not come across any damselflies, butterflies or much in the insect line, apart from mosquitoes as I headed along. A Wren was carrying food, presumably back to a nest. I could also hear young birds calling from a hole in one of the trees but I did not see a parent come back to know what they were. A male Marsh Harrier flew past and I saw a male Sparrowhawk and a couple of Kestrel.
A Dunnock popped up in a bush and gave brief views before moving out of sight and bursting into song while a Yellowhammer provided a splash of colour as it sang away in the top of a tree.
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| Dunnock |
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| Yellowhammer |
I saw a Spotted Cranefly and tried for a photo but had to use a high ISO.
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| Spotted Cranefly |
Unfortunately at that moment a Cuckoo suddenly flew into the tree above me and landed briefly before it spotted me and was off. I tried to grab a photo but with the camera still on macro and a high ISO it has not come out well but I am pleased that I was able to get anything. I have been very lucky with having had some close Cuckoo encounters this spring but I have failed miserably at being able to get a decent photo. Still, it made my afternoon to see it and it is not a view that I have had before as I was almost directly below it. Luckily it did not go far and I was able to enjoy watching it as it flew from tree to tree calling away frequently. I was not able to get an unobstructed view of it calling but I was pleased to be able to get a shot as it sang. At one point I could hear another male calling as well and a little while later I heard the unmistakable sound of a female calling. It was great to hear it and it is the first female that I have heard this spring.
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| male Cuckoo |
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| male Cuckoo |
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| male Cuckoo |
As I carried on up the road I had a Greenfinch singing from the telegraph wires.
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| Greenfinch |
I finished the visit with views of a beetle I have not seen before and which from some views looked a little like a very strange minature elephant, Fanciful, I know, but its rostrum really does look a lot like a trunk. I ended up seeing 3 of them, all on Cow Parsley. I did not know what it was, apart from probably being some kind of weevil but it was a fascinating looking insect. I looked it up when I got home and it appears to be a Liparus coronatus. It made a good end to the visit.
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| Liparus coronatus |
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| Liparus coronatus |
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| Liparus coronatus |
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| Liparus coronatus |
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| Liparus coronatus |
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| Liparus coronatus |
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| Liparus coronatus |
Birds seen this visit include: 1 Greylag Goose, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, Rooks, 6 Mallard including 1 female with 9 youngsters, 8 Linnets, 23 Goldfinches, 5 Whitethroat, 3 Cuckoo including 1 female calling, House Sparrows, 13 Chaffinch, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 21 Blackbird, 18 Blue Tits, 7 Great Tits, 6 Collared Dove, 4 Moorhen, 4 Wren, 4 Green Woodpecker, Wood Pigeons, 6 Chiffchaff, 7 Robin, 2 Magpie, 3 Dunnock, 5 Blackcap, 1 Pheasant, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel, 15 Swallow, 2 Cormorant, 5 Song Thrush, 1 Swift, 1 Yellowhammer, 2 Greenfinch, 3 Mistle Thrush, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 2 Reed Warbler, Skylarks, 1 Mute Swan, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Sedge Warbler
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