Return for seconed helping

Yes The Wood Sandpiper is still with us ,

 

                         I t was very active today flitting about from one area of the main pool then to another. constantly feeding. This proves at least that the water life IE water insects and anything that lives in the bottom mud has already established itself.

The sun was out in the afternoon and so it made a big difference as regards photos. For the first time as far as I'm aware there was a Canada Goose on one of the pools. Also the whole area was teaming with Swallows and House Martins

 

Great tit one of a few flitting through a near by hedge.

Look these up in any id book and it will tell you Oxeye Daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, widespread and common , well they may be common but in my eyes they are an absolute show at this time of year

The forecast says cloud and rain for the rest of the week, lets hope they get it wrong again.

Third post in one day

Took the Westies out for their  morning walk and hadn't been in the house long when my phone went off and its Roy, "Wood Sandpiper " says the text, dam, its cloudy, looking like rain and I haven't even got the car. This means yomping all the way up to Thacker with all the gear in the hope of getting a half decent pic in poor light .

Wood Sandpiper,  by the time I got this shot large spots of rain are beginning to hit my back helped along by a stiff breeze

 Just one of a few Lapwing chicks that have defied all odds of survival
This is my first visit to the reserve for a long time as I didn't want to tangle with dog walkers that don't respect the new reserve.
I am really pleased the way its all took shape and its greening up beautifully, and its pulling in  the wildlife good and proper, Great.
So by 10am the rain is beginning to set in and with no proper protection for my equipment I set off home again.
At some point I'll put some before and after pics of the reserve, its really interesting

Saturday June 4th Sandpipers

Good job no boats being launched today otherwise one flat Common Sandpiper

Decided to spend another day with Les this time taking Mrs W and the Westies, arriving at the boat shed at about 8am. We were there before Les understandably as the Keswick beer festival is on this weekend, say no more.
So first of all myself and the Westies went to check out the Great Spotted Woodpecker nest, unfortunately the young have flown so no pics, at least I hadn't lugged my gear round there.

The sandpipers seemed more agitated today, and even more so when a Carrion Crow made the occasional appearance,

In between bouts of guard duty it would relax for a while and continue feeding

Then we had a second bird on view which I thought was strange because I'm thinking it was still sitting eggs,
this bird seems to have a hole in its beak.

Now she is stood on the concrete from the old launching ramp, then suddenly from one of the cracks,

This little fella pops up, a gorgeous Sandpiper chick. Not the best of picks I know but he was a good distance away and running like the clappers. before disappearing never to be seen again.

This is one of a few Juvenile Grey Wagtail that was constantly chasing insects.
So a good day was had by all, and this is in the same area as the Redstart a few weeks back.

Derwentwater Friday June the 3rd

Canada Goose has found something interesting on the lake bed

On the warmest day of the year so far for  Cumbria I decided to spend some time with my mate Les over on the isthmus.

Now enjoying a cooling shower.

I hadn't been there long when this Common Sandpiper appeared and started to hang around quite a bit

Common Sandpiper
I got the impression there was a nest close by and this could possibly be the male on guard.

And a spot of preening, keep the old feathers in good condition.
At lunch time e went over to the landings as Les had to drive the 12-30 launch round the lake, all good fun and an enjoyable trip, almost like being on holiday especially with the weather.
At three he had to go into Keswick so I dropped him off and came home.

Ctenophora Flaveolata

Ctenophora Flaveolata.
or to put it another way Yellow-ringed  comb-horn crane fly. There you go I feel much better now.
Well nearly at the end of May and this is only my 3rd post in a month, mainly due to the weather although there has been other factors. The above photo by the way was taken over at the Isthmus, Keswick, the insect had settled on an upturned rowing boat waiting to be refurbished. (the boat not the insect)
As usual I went over there because my mate Les had found a Great Spotted woodpecker feeding young and thought it might be good for photos. Well in the right light and weather conditions he would be right but unfortunately When I went over on Friday it was blowing a gale and very showery, the light was bad and also parents birds were being disturbed because of a large party of kids and staff from one of the outdoor centres, they were using a small beach close by and the noise was horrendous.
The day before a Gannet had been seen resting on the lake obviously blown inland with recent gales, but that's new for Derwentwater. The female Redstart has started flitting about which gives me the impression that they may have young now.

Mean while Back on the patch, not a lot happening on the flash just a few Mallard , the Coot is still sitting, although the water is rising so the hope the nest can float. There is nearly always one or two Stock dove about, and there was 4 Dunlin on the Thacka beck reserve during the week. Roy was up there Friday morning and told me about a Great Spotted nest at Cliburn, if only the weather would pick up and we could get out more.

Down to the land of the floating sheds

The floating sheds (Brockholes Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve)
Yes Mrs W and myself had a ride down the M6 to the recently opened  reserve. Bird wise there was quite a bit to see if one was willing to tramp around, which we was not. We left Penrith in lovely warm sun only to be greeted by gale force winds and no sun at the reserve.
The reserve for a long time now has been pulling some good birds in including some rarities, however the new building and the path layout is still very much a work-in-progress situation. On the day of our visit the only access to the buildings was along the wooden causeway,  and as can be seen there are no safety rails, (parents with children beware). Also the coin machine was malfunctioning creating confusion and a quite a few people in line.

We didn't linger too long and soon we were making our way North again deciding to stop off at  Leighton Moss for lunch and a quick scan.

Male Shoveler
  On reaching Leighton the weather was mucho improvo, and all was good with Mrs W as she had now had lunch.

Coot on nest.
 Up at the Flash with the Westies this morning and 2 Coots were nest building, the above though was a Leighton Moss.
The Little-ringed Plover have been back on the Thacka beck reserve but didn't stay long and Sedge Warbler has been heard on the pond.

Catching up







Male Redstart
Over the weekend my mate Les rang me up a couple of times and each time He was on the phone He was trying to describe a bird He was watching, ( He's not a birder) as I have said before He works on the Isthmus at Keswick Launch co. so yesterday I went over to spend some time with him. It was a while before the bird showed but when it did it turned out to be a beautiful male Redstart. it was a good distance away and my pics don't do its marking justice, but it was good to see.

They are a beautiful bird to watch.

The patch which is Thacka flash, "the pond" and the new Thacka beck reserve have all been pretty quiet since the Little Ringed Plover visits. But yesterday a Wood Sandpiper dropped in for a while, no sign this morning though.

Wild apple blossom along the top track
On the Flash this morning was the usual Mallard, plus a Coot the first in a while. After I had put the Westies back in the car I had a walk round the Thacker beck reserve. surprisingly I found 3 more Coots on there, and better still against all odds 4 possibly 5 Lapwing chicks. When I say against all odds I mean to say they have survived all the disturbance by irresponsible dog walkers. 3 of which I tangled with this morning  for not having their dogs on a lead, in spite of the fact that there are now notices up saying dogs must be on a lead. (my blood boils)

Horse-Chestnut blossom

We are not getting the variety of birds we got last year on the Flash, and I can only think that this is because the water level is still very high, therefore less attractive to waders. Also the new reserve seams to be picking up the birds we had on the Flash last year.

                                          A common woodland fern
                                              Male fern I think.