Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Flooding at Warnham Local Nature Reserve - P. Shergold

Today's Sightings:

Little Egret 2, Grey Heron 1, Tufted Duck 17, Mallard 40, Shoveler 1, Coot 2, Jay 6, Wren 2, Song Thrush 3, Blackbird 2, Robin 5, Chaffinch 1, Great Tit 3, Blue Tit 5, Dunnock 1, Woodpigeon 100+, Mute Swan 2, Cormorant 1, Lesser Redpoll 2, Grey Wagtail 1, Common Buzzard 2, Treecreeper 1, Greylag Goose 30+, Carrion Crow 4, Coal Tit 2, Goldfinch 10+

Grey Squirrel 1

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Sightings from today:

Little Egret 1, Moorhen 3, Tufted Duck 17, Cormorant 3, Mallard 43, Coot 6, Little Grebe 3, Great Tit 4, Blue Tit 7, Reed Bunting 1, Robin 3, Long-tailed Tit 2, Chaffinch 1, Carrion Crow 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Woodpigeon 150+, Magpie 2, Greylag Goose 30+, Kingfisher 1, Shoveler 1, Teal 1, Grey Heron 1, Siskin 1, Nuthatch 1

Chesworth Farm

Today's Sightings:

Little Egret 1, Robin 5, Magpie 4, Carrion Crow 3, Black-headed Gull 30+

Owlbeech Woods

Mike Ayling carried out a survey at Owlbeech Woods this weekend which produced the following:

Black-headed Gull 3, Blue Tit 4, Common Buzzard 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Herring Gull 7, Magpie 2, Robin 1, Tawny Owl 1, Wren 1, Blackbird 2, Bullfinch 2, Carrion Crow 3, Great Tit 2, Jackdaw 1, Nuthatch 1, Song Thrush 3, Woodpigeon 12

Grey Squirrel 2

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Greylag Goose - D. Verrall

A murky day greeted us on the Reserve this morning however it was to be an excellent day for sightings. First of all there was a decent increase in Tufted Duck numbers which was pretty unexpected. Several Redwing were bombing around Mill Meadow eating the bevvy of worms on the damp grass and a flyover Great White Egret at c11.45am was the undoubted highlight but sadly it did not make landfall onto the Reserve turf. The final highlight of the day was a total of 10 Common Snipe feeding on the northern edge of the Swan Island which is best viewed from the Aston Trelford Hide.

Below is a list of the species noted today on the Reserve:

GREAT WHITE EGRET 1, COMMON SNIPE 10, Little Grebe 1, Cormorant 5, Little Egret 2, Grey Heron 1, Greylag Goose 30+, Mallard 40+, Shoveler 1, Tufted Duck 29, Sparrowhawk 1, Pheasant 2, Moorhen 2, Coot 6, Black-headed Gull 100+, Herring Gull 10+, Woodpigeon 150+, Green Woodpecker 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Wren 3, Dunnock 2, Robin 4, Blackbird 7, Song Thrush 2, Redwing 6, Coal Tit 5, Great Tit 20+, Blue Tit 20+, Nuthatch 3, Magpie 15, Jackdaw 20+, Carrion Crow 2, Goldfinch 10+, Lesser Redpoll 1

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Beautiful Day at Warnham Local Nature Reserve

A busy day on the Reserve with plenty of people visiting and lots of bits and pieces to keep everybody entertained. The best sighting of the day was out first butterfly of the year when I stumbled across a Red Admiral basking in Walnut Tree Plantation.

Also of note it appears that the Siskin have finalyl found the feeders and a small group is now mixing in with the Goldfinch flock so keep your eyes peeled as hopefully numbers will stat to build until the end of Feb. David Verrall was again on hand to get a nice picture of this female from the Woodpecker Hide.

Siskin - D. Verrall

A summary of species seen today can be seen below:

Little Grebe 4, Cormorant 3, Little Egret 1, Grey Heron 1, Greylag Goose 30+, Teal 3, Mallard 39, Tufted Duck 19, Common Buzzard 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Pheasant 1, Moorhen 2, Coot 4, Black-headed Gull 100+, Herring Gull 30+, Stock Dove 1, Woodpigeon 40+, Green Woodpecker 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Wren 3, Dunnock 2, Robin 9, Blackbird 5, Song Thrush 3, Redwing 1, Mistle Thrush 1, Goldcrest 1, Long-tailed Tit 1, Coal Tit 7, Blue Tit 20+, Great Tit 20+, Nuthatch 4, Jay 2, Magpie 6, Jackdaw 60+, Carrion Crow 4, Chaffinch 9, Goldfinch 5, Siskin 2

Roe Deer 1, Grey Squirrel 7, Rabbit 1

Red Admiral 1

Chesworth Farm

Surfacing works at Chesworth Farm

31 volunteers joined Ryan at Chesworth Farm as Horsham Green Gym got stuck into the surfacing which we have been planning over the winter. The aim of the task was to not only cut back some of the vegetation such as the ever encroaching Bramble but also to surface with aggregate some of the worst affected gateways which you can see above. It was excellent to see such a good turn-out at what is undoubtedly a tough task with lots of barrowing and digging the order of the day.

Not much was seen on the wildlife front as all of the volunteers had their heads down grafting but Ryan did manage to see a couple of Grey Herons on the wetland fields. David Verrall also managed a nice picture which he took over the weekend of one of a number of Greenfinches seen around the site.

Greenfinch - D. Verrall

Also of note if you are not already aware the Friends of Chesworth Farm are running their next event this coming Saturday which is a guided walk around the Farm. This is a fantastic opportunity to get to know the Farm, see the livestock as well as learn about how the site is used by the wildlife at this time of year. 

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Sightings from today:

Tufted Duck 14, Black-headed Gull 100+, Mallard 41, Coot 5, Moorhen 5, Cormorant 2, Grey Heron 1, Carrion Crow 2, Pheasant 4, Robin 5, Woodpigeon 29, Song Thrush 2, Blue Tit 4, Great Tit 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Chaffinch 1, Dunnock 2, Blackbird 3, Magpie 1, Wren 2, Herring Gull 13, Lesser Black-backed Gull 1, Marsh Tit 3, Grey Wagtail 1, Siskin 1, Redwing 12, Goldfinch 13, Jay 2

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Goosander - I Redman

Late on Sunday afternoon visitors may well have had the fortune of seeing the Reserves 11th record of a Goosander. This stunning male Goosander was photographed by Ian Redman as it spent c15 minutes on the millpond in the late afternoon sunshine before departing in a northerly direction. Ian was sat in the Heron Hide when at 2.50pm the bird appeared to fly in from the south when it landed and drifted around on the lake looking nervous until it eventually flew off at 3.05pm.

Goosander - I. Redman

Goosander - I. Redman

The Goosander is a medium-sized duck and part of  the group known as the 'sawbills' after their long, narrow bills with saw-like 'teeth' which are good for gripping fish. The Goosander is perfectly shaped for swimming underwater after fish due to it having a long and streamlined bodyshape. The male Goosander has a dark green head, a black back and a long, red bill with a hook at the tip and white sides and breast which sometimes have a pink glow. The female is grey with a gingery or rufous brown head and a white throat.

Goosander - I. Redman

Other sightings from today included:

GOOSANDER 1 (Male), Grey Heron 2, Coot 3, Cormorant 4, Shoveler 1, Tufted Duck 21, Carrion Crow 7, Red Kite 1, Redwing 7, Little Grebe 1, Wren 2, Treecreeper 2, Sparrowhawk 1, Pheasant 3, Blue Tit 8, Great Tit 5, Egyptian Goose 2, Nuthatch 2, Blackbird 4, Lesser Black-backed Gull 2, Black-headed Gull 40+, Herring Gull 20+, Kingfisher 1, Robin 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2

Chesworth Farm

Stonechat - D. Verrall

Stonechat - D. Verrall

Ryan managed to find a Stonechat or possibly two a week or so ago when leading a GreenGym task at the Farm. But despite a few looks whilst checking the livestock in the proceeding days I couldn't seem to find them. However today in the pouring rain when checking the cows in Parlour Mead Field this little beauty popped up right in front of me and showed down to about 20ft which was fantastic. Unfortunately I did not have a camera to hand but David Verrall once again came up with the goods and managed to photograph the bird later that day.

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Lesser Redpoll - D. Verrall

A nice morning greeted us on the Reserve with the wintery sun doing its best to break through the clouds before it lost its battle in the afternoon and the rain set in for the rest of the day. Not too much different bird-wise seen on the Reserve except a gorgeous male Lesser Redpoll which was photographed by David Verrall from the Woodpecker Hide. We had a good number of Redpoll around in late October but most of them seemed to move on quickly which was a shame. Otherwise there was a good scattering of the usual suspects around. Several birds were ringed this morning including an impressive male Great-spotted Woodpecker which can be seen in the photograph below.

Today's sightings:

Great-spotted Woodpecker 2, Marsh Tit 1, Coal Tit 3, Lesser Redpoll 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Chaffinch 1, Long-tailed Tit 5+, Nuthatch 2, Dunnock 2, Blue Tit 10+, Great Tit 10+, Blackbird 3, Pheasant 2, Black-headed Gull 50+,  Tufted Duck 9, Woodpigeon 50+

Winter Moth 1

Great-spotted Woodpecker 

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Frosty Start

A wonderful freezing cold morning greeted us at Warnham Local Nature Reserve today and high hopes of decent numbers of gulls arriving with the frost did not come to fruition. I was hoping that the juvenile Iceland Gull from Sunday might make another appearance but for some reason gull numbers were low all day with a maximum of 200 or so on the ice. There were still a few Common Gulls mixed in but not many larger gulls around at all.

The feeders were a little busier once again which is to be expected as the cold weather takes a hold and makes the smaller birds more reliant on the regular food source provided at the Woodpecker Hide. All of the resident tit species were recorded at the feeders today including Marsh Tit which was nicely photographed by David Verrall on the Reserve yesterday.

Marsh Tit - D. Verrall

Other species of note seen around the Reserve today included:

Little Grebe 4, Cormorant 7, Grey Heron 3, Mute Swan 2, Greylag Goose 63, Mallard 45+, Tufted Duck 6, Pheasant 2, Water Rail 3, Moorhen 4, Coot 3, BH Gull 150+, Common Gull 3, Herring Gull 50+, Woodpigeon 300+, Kingfisher 1, GS Woodpecker 1, Grey Wagtail 1, Wren 6, Dunnock 3, Robin 11, Blackbird 22, Song Thrush 5, Redwing 14, Long-tailed Tit 10+, Marsh Tit 1, Coal Tit 7, Blue Tit 50+, Great Tit 50+, Nuthatch 2, Jay 1, Magpie 37, Carrion Crow 3, Chaffinch 7, Goldfinch 20+