Kestrels, buzzards and a goosander

I have seen a kestrel on my last three cycle rides home from work: the first two times flying low over the river - and quite fast, and tonight perched in a tree. There is at least one - so probably a pair? in the small wood between Willen lake and the riverside park. Although they are not uncommon birds, I think they are elegant, beautiful birds. We don't have a great variety of birds of prey around here - although I'm sure red kites will be in Milton Keynes soon (I believe they have been seen on the outskirts). Interesting how much changes over time. When I was first in MK, (1976) I never saw buzzards - although there may have been buzzards nearby (e.g. Brickhill). Now we have at least one pair in the woods not far out of Newport and it is not unusual to see them nearby or even circling above the town occasionally. On Saturday I walked through the old cemetary in Newport and spotted a buzzard flying over the field nearby - and on Sunday in the same spot there was a goosander in the river. My husband told me a while back he had seen what he said were strange ducks - which dived - in the river but I couldn't work out what they were from his description. Now, having shown him the illustration in the book we're pretty sure that's what he saw. It was really good to be able to see the bird (a female) so close. Although there are often small numbers - usually a pair - on Willen Lake, they tend to be fairly shy and not too close to the shore.

Pipistrelle

Surprised to see a pipistrelle bat in the bright sunshine today - around 1.30, near the university playing fields (which are quite near the river). the temperature has risen quite a bit so I imagine some bats have woken up and are sufficiently hungry to hunt in the day time
Also found a diary (birds rather than wildlife more generally) of this area - at least until the author moved away - see
http://www.cmp.liv.ac.uk/birdseyeview/diary.php?year=2004&month=03

Snow still hanging on

Although we have not had a significant fall of snow for nearly a week, there are still patches of snow (or rather ice) on our footpaths and redways - in places still extensive enough to make it pretty slippery. I decided to drive to Willen Lake this morning to walk the dog there and check out the paths - to see whether it looks cyclable for going to work tomorrow. It wasn't and isn't - and I was surprised to find that much of the lake was still frozen. I spent a bit of time in the hide - but not a lot to see apart from a largish flock of lapwings, standing on the frozen lake - and coots. I do think lapwings are very striking as they wheel around in the sky when they are disturbed. I still think of them as birds that I am used to seeing in fields by the see and on moorland though. But given that they are declining I hope the Willen/Milton Keynes flocks are doing well. And there are certainly a lot of coots around.

And herons. There were between 6 and 8 - difficult to say - in the trees on the island in the lake, presumably they nest there? I haven't really noticed them before as unless you are specifically looking at the island and in the right place, they would be hard to see, especially as some of the trees they are in are conifers.

What a difference a week makes……..

Last Saturday (31st Jan) we visited the hides at Linford Pits (this is part of the now nature reserve where the barn owls and short eared owls live). It was bitterly cold, but very bright and sunny. From the hides we watched various ducks: mallard; gadwall; wigeon; pochard; teal and tufted ducks and snipe in the reeds – and we could see a fox curled up asleep on the opposite bank. Their coats must indeed work pretty well for anything to be able to sleep in such cold weather.

But this week it has been snowy, with sufficient snowfall on Monday to make cycling to work an option I did not feel like taking, and just as the cycle paths looked as though with another day they would be clear we had another substantial fall on Thursday. Much of that melted, but Friday brought further snow which although much has melted from the town, is still a few inches deep in the field. Interestingly, thyme (see picture) seems to cope fine with the snow and there has been sufficient to use in the garden all winter.

The river is still flowing but the shallower stretches of water in the hollows in the field have frozen over and indeed two such ponds have joined up, making a new feature in the field. A couple of meadow pipits were wandering over the ice on the frozen pools and I wondered what they might be finding, as they mainly feed on inverterbrates. It is only in the last couple of years that I have noticed them in the fields nearby. I have always thought of them as moorland birds that I have seen on my upland walks – but then noticed a flock of what looked like meadow pipits in the field near the river near where I walk with the dog (see the photo) And indeed, a bit of reading up revealed that they often spend winters in farmland.
I have put breadcrumbs, cheese, sunflower seeds and the odd worm I could find on the table in the garden. I don’t usually feed the birds as we have two cats – but in this weather the cats spend all their time safely indoors. We have seen a blackbird defending the new feeding station and a robin feeding but little else – I would imagine it would take birds a while to find, check out and use a new source of food (unless they are very bold – like black-headed gulls, which don’t come into the garden).