Langdyke World

22 January - Work Party at Etton

2012-01-23T12:04:00.001-08:00

Sixteen adults and two children turned up on Sunday for our first work party of the year, focusing on removing willow from the southern end of the reserve, which we want to remain a wet area, suitable for wintering snipe and good in the summer for hares and skylarks.

Hard work it has to be said, lots of digging and pulling and swinging mattocks! David and Tim instead worked on creating the anchors for the new tern raft and Frieda and Emily were busy mapping water levels around the site.

And we even had a visit from Nick Watts OBE of Vine House Farm, who was visiting the reserve for the first time and offering thoughts on how we can best manage it for wildlife!

Langdyke Walk - 1 January 2012

2012-01-14T05:32:00.000-08:00

A busy start to the New Year with over 60 adults and 12 children joining us for the annual Langdyke New Year's Day walk, led by Frieda and Martin.

We walked across Swaddywell and over to Open Coppy Wood and back around along the footpath to the Brick pits and King Street.

Etton - Maxey Pits - 14 January

2012-01-14T05:28:00.000-08:00

A beautiful frosty morning today and large parts of the reserve were covered in a thin layer of ice. Teal were everywhere (at least 200), the air alive with their flight and evocative, call. There were fieldfare in the hedgerow and about 30 meadow pipit and 20 skylark constantly bursting out of the wet vegetation at the northern end of the reserve, near the wood. At least 7 snipe around too and one hare running across the grassland near south hide.

Etton Maxey Pits - Work Party

2011-11-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

Work party this afternoon, under blue skies with occasional lapwing and fieldfare overhead.

There were twelve workers out today, hard at it cutting down willow, strimming down sedge and reed in front of the southern hide and generally fixing things up. We did a great job, even if I do say so myself, in clearing the sight lines across the wetland from the eastern embankment. Prizes to Bob Titman for herculean effort and David Cowcill for obsession with a strimmer!

Thanks to all involved.

Goldfinches

2011-11-26T03:21:00.000-08:00

Last week’s best ever total of goldfinch in my Helpston garden of 19, was beaten today with a flock of 24.

Also a red kite over the house early morning.

Grey Wagtail, Helpston

2011-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

I had a new pond put into the garden this week, and straight away a grey wagtail has found it and was bathing in it this afternoon.

Bainton Pits, 12 November

2011-11-12T05:03:00.000-08:00

A walk around Bainton Pits this morning turned up a singing Cetti’s warbler in the south-east corner of the main pit and a pair of red-crested pochard in with the tufted duck on the same pit.

Plenty of fieldfare and redwing activity all around the site and a snipe and green sandpiper overhead.

Weekend Round-Up

2011-10-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a lovely autumn weekend - quite mild and bright sunshine.

A few red darter dragonflies continue to linger on, but otherwise the signs all around us are those of autumn. There are a few redwings around, and I found my first fieldfares of the autumn on Saturday, 22 October, at Oldfield Ponds. Just east of the wood at Oldfield Ponds, there were two red kite feeding in a newly ploughed field. In total we saw six kites as we walked around this area. Also one brown hare.

Today there were more kites about - three between the Hanglands and Ben Jonson Pit.

Wheatear at Maxey GP

2011-08-21T02:05:00.001-07:00

Digiscoped using Kowa TSN-883 x30 and Canon Powershot A640
copyright J.H.P.Saunders
More pictures @ http://hedgelandtales.blogspot.com

This Wheatear was present at Maxey GP on the morning of the 19th August, but was not found subsequently. It is the first bird (as far as I am aware) that has been found at this site on Autumn migration and was present in the traditional area at this site, on the bank at the south-west side.

Swaddywell in Bloom 2011

2011-08-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show had several gardens with a natural planting scheme, using “wild” species. Perhaps they had taken inspiration from our very own Swaddywell Pit, as the following pictures illustrate.

The cold winter may have had an effect: certainly the land management did so. The top meadow was well grazed in 2010. The area in the NW corner of the old quarry floor (nearest geology point 3) was specifically transformed in winter2009/10 by work-party volunteers cutting back the huge bramble bank, then again in winter/spring 2010/11 by more effort to cut back the vegetation in a three-year rotation.

The results were spectacular - in the top meadow a carpet of orchids that lasted from late June (the season was early) to the last flower heads in early August.

Across the lower site there appeared a blaze of wild marjoram and wild carrot that is only now beginning to fade. All this was attractive to insects - in the sheltered corners, there were large numbers of seasonal butterflies and moths, and especially bees at a time of great stress for them.

A practice run ahead of the Farm Sunday walk in early July easily noted over 20 species in bloom (ignoring the “common” ones). My favourites were the Pyramidal Orchids, the Bee Orchids near geology point 5, the tiny Eyebright, and a stranger to me called Weld - a mignonette used in olden times as a source of yellow dye!

It is amazing how species which must have been dormant in the seed bank then develop when their special conditions arise. Examples are the Cudweed spreading on a harsh bare earth gateway floor (leading to geology point 2) and the Eyebright clustered in less than one square metre on the now dry edge of the large pond. Let’s hope the Bee Orchids continue to develop, and the Grass Vetchling (which has been absent for two years now) returns to the fringes of the top meadow.

Here are the pictures which show some of the breadth of species at Swaddywell -a quite special floral environment.

MAXEY G P

2011-08-15T06:23:00.001-07:00

A good morning at the pit.

2 wood sandpipers now present, 2 green sandpipers, and 2 little ringed plovers flew in. They settled briefly on the stones below the seat and to the left of the pump. Photo of one. They then flew to the far mud flats. Only one of the young terns still on the raft this morning. The other 2 were being fed by the adults on the flats.

Counted 9 Little Egrets along the Cut and saw a whinchat near the first bridge in Maxey Rd. They have been seen here before.

2 grey wagtails at main bridge of Cut.

A raft of terns

2011-08-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday 14th Aug

The 3 young common terns seem to be doing very well at Maxey GP . Took this photo yesterday. You can just see the third one behind the back centre pipe. The parent birds got very agitated while i was trying to take a photo but were regularly bringing in small fry.

Wood Sandpiper

2011-08-14T02:33:00.001-07:00

Digiscoped using Kowa TSN-883 x30 and Canon Powershot A640
copyright J.H.P.Saunders
For more photos of my birding adventures visit my blog @ http://hedgelandtales.blogspot.com

Above is a distantly digiscoped shot of one of the Wood Sandpipers that has been present at Maxey GP for the past couple of days. There were two present yesterday, but only one was seen this morning by myself and Chris Lines. I have been reliably informed that this bird (and the other one from yesterday) is a juvenile due to its `clean` appearance. An adult at this time of year would be worn and dull looking.

Maxey is a good site for this lovely little wader, most years bringing sitings of them.

Avocet at Maxey GP

2011-08-12T13:40:00.001-07:00

Digiscoped using Kowa TSN-883 x30 and Canon Powershot A640
copyright J.H.P.Saunders
For more photos visit my blog @ http://hedgelandtales.blogspot.com

This lone Avocet was present at Maxey GP on Wednesday evening. It was present at the Etton Road site and had obviously just dropped in for a quick wash and feed before moving on as it was gone the next morning.

Whinchat at Maxey GP

2011-08-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

Digiscoped using Kowa TSN-883 x30 and Canon Powershot A640
copyright J.H.P.Saunders
For more pictures visit my blog @ http://hedgelandtales.blogspot.com

This Whinchat was present this morning at Maxey GP, Etton Road. It was present on the new fencing at the southern end of the site and was doing what Whinchats do, dropping down to grab some unsuspecting insect and then returning to the fence post to `spy` out its next victim.

This is the first known Whinchat at this site this year and only the second in the recording area of the Peterborough Bird Club. Unfortunately it was not present this evening, although it could have been hiding!

Southorpe Pastures

2011-07-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of a small copper butterfly last Thurs at Southorpe Pastures. I was quite chuffed with the results as they are very sensitive to any movement. I always think that they would be more at home in a tropical environment.

There were 5 buzzards circling around and calling over Helpston village yesterday afternoon ( Sat ). The little egrets really seem to like The Maxey Cut for fishing. 6 flew up when i cycled over the bridge on Maxey Rd Fri.

Maxey Cut - Tuesday 19 July

2011-07-19T05:30:00.001-07:00

A walk along Maxey Cut at 7am this morning turned up seven little egret feeding in the channel, with two red kite, one a juvenile, sitting in a tree alongside the Helpston-Maxey Road. There were two green sandpiper on the Martin Pit and one little ringed plover.

I was surprised at the shortage of sand martins – no activity at all around the nesting sites – does anyone know if they have come and gone?

Recent Sightings

2011-07-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Several of our common butterflies are now in good numbers locally. Particularly peacocks and red admirals. Also ringlets seem to be doing particularly well this year. This one taken in our garden. Not so common is the silver washed fritillary, a woodland butterfly. This image was taken this week at Castor Hanglands. I saw at least 4 seperate butterflies there. This is good news because before last summer i had only regularly seen them locally at Bedford Purlieus near Wansford.

Our turtle doves have once again been successful this year. Here is one of the parent birds on the left with the 2 juveniles to the right. They are on the wires beyond the hedge dividing Helpston cemetery from the fields at the back.

The photo below was taken by my wife in our back garden. This is the first time we have recorded a tree creeper in our garden. It was on our acer tree in the middle of our lawn and hung around for about 5 mins allowing her a reasonably close shot. She was so thrilled to have seen it here.

Nightingales - With Apologies for Late Posting - from Chris Formby

2011-06-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

On the 18th of May myself and 32 others went to Bainton fisheries to hear some Nightingales. It was my first Nightingale experience so I didn’t know what to expect but i found it very interesting.

We met up at Torpel field at 8pm and then we drove down Bainton fisheries. It was a very beautiful place. We were told about the history of the fishery and I learned that it was a prime spot for Nightingales so we should’ve been able to hear them well – We weren’t there to see them.

We started to walk round the lakes after about half a kilometre walk we heard a Nightingale! I didn’t know what I was listening out for at first but Nightingales have a very distinctive call so I soon knew what we were listening for. As I am helping out with the Landyke trust for my DoE I was made to write down where we had heard the Nightingales. We carried on walking for a bit and heard a few more Nightingales and eventually we ended up on the Heath which is where lots Ash was dumped from the Power stations in the North of England. On the Heath there are lots of different species of Plants and Animals and we even saw a Hobby which are quite rare. We heard 4 Nightingales on the heath which was fascinating but unfortunately the Nightingales weren’t singing their best which was a bit of a shame. However it was a very interesting evening and I learned lots from it.

I enjoyed it very much and I would defiantly like to go Nightingale listening again.

Pyramidal Orchids at Etton Maxey

2011-06-17T00:15:00.000-07:00

We had a good Langdyke walk around the reserve on Wednesday night - 12 visitors in total and a nice, if breezy evening.

The highlights of the walk were the discovery of a colony of 50 or so pyramidal orchids in the north west corner along the road side. Last year there were a couple of spikes here so to see such an increase over 12 months is pretty impressive.

We also saw a pair of red crested pochard, 2 little ringed plover and were serenaded throughout by skylark over head!

Yesterday Richard Keymer and Carry Akroyd found a peregrine falcon sitting on the mud in the mid-afternoon on the reserve!

Sheep Shearing at Torpel

2011-06-17T00:11:00.001-07:00

A wonderful afternoon watching other people work at Torpel yesterday. The Wildlife Trust were busy strimming the nettles down while Harry and Harry from Moo2Ewe were at work shearing 32 ewes and 2 rams, including the enormous, Sydney! You try loading him into the back of a Land Rover.

A little owl was seen on site twice during the day and a red kite flew over to see what we were up to!

Bird Ringing at Bainton

2011-06-17T00:09:00.000-07:00

Report attached for the session on 15 June at Bainton. A good overall total despite the pesky wind, once more making life a bit tricky. 3 juvenile Nightgales makes a total of 4 so far this year so a good start. Two female Green Woodpeckers were entertaining (and little painful to be honest) but they are stunning birds and much, much stronger than folk realise. Very strong feet and one hell of a beak.

Been looking at some Nightingale data and for some unknown reason (senior moment) forgot to pick up on our female that went to France. She didn't reappear in 2009 but was retrapped twice last year.

Also, just received details of two controls from the BTO. A Whitethroat I caught on 20 April had been ringed as a juvenile on 31 August at Icklesham, Sussex and a Reed Warbler caught on 4 May had also been ringed as a juvenile - but on 14 September 2008 at North Dunes, Winterton, Norfolk. (I also received details of a Ferry Meadows Sedge Warbler, ringed by my team who operate down there, ringed as a juv on 8 August 09 and controlled 17 days later near Le Havre. Tres bon, n'est ce pas?)

And Again

2011-06-09T23:35:00.001-07:00

The spotted flycather again yesterday singing in the copper beech near the black and white house on Bishops Road. What a weak and to be honest very poor singer it is!

Barn Owl

2011-06-09T05:46:00.001-07:00

There was a barn owl sitting eyeing the world on one of the red and white gas pipeline marker posts south of Helpston last night, near King Street. This is the first time I have seen evidence that our local barn owls survived the cold winter, so it was great to see that they are still here. This one sat quitely for a good 10 minutes, occasionally glancing over at me and Henry and eventually flying off towards Torpel Manor Field.

The spotted flycatcher was singing from the aerial of Moulton College in the Cathedral Grounds again this lunchtime too.

Spotted Flycatcher Again

2011-06-08T02:06:00.000-07:00

Great news this morning as Ivan Cumberpatch has found a spotted flycatcher in its traditional haunt of Helpston churchyard. Perhaps the world is still turning?

Spotted Flycatcher

2011-06-06T05:36:00.000-07:00

At last a spotted flycatcher, my first of the year - calling weakly as is their manner, from a tree in the Cathedral Grounds, near the Almoner's Hall.

I haven't seen one around Helpston yet this year, although someone reported four at Burghley Park this weekend.

Turtle doves too are another species that we seem to be losing fast locally, although Trevor Valentine has one nesting in the paddock next to his house! Lucky thing!

Weekend Round-Up

2011-06-06T04:51:00.000-07:00

I had a good walk along the Maxey Cut on Saturday morning. There are at least four pairs of common tern nesting on the Sand Martin Pit, and lots of martins feeding along the Cut.

There was a hobby overhead and a Cetti's Warbler calling from the usual spot near the telephone mast. In addition, a kingfisher flashed past along the Cut and a single little egret flew over.

I have found a couple of highly visible little owls so far this summer. There is one just opposite my house that can been seen at dusk from my bedroom window and another often seen along the South Drain.

1 June Ringing Report from Chris Hughes

2011-06-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

Another good session with some early warbler juvs around.

Earliest ever Blackcap was 29 May in 2009 but these were pretty early too. The usual date for juv Blackcaps is mid June so signs are looking OK for a good season. 2 female Nightingales ringed to add to the 2 female retraps (all with brood patches) caught so far this year so, with some confidence I can say that there are at least 4 pairs breeding on the heath - as a minimum. Let's hope there are more as they need all the help they can get.

My day started with Nightingales at Bainton and ended ringing 3 pullus Red Kites in deepest Rutland so, all in all, as Del Boy would say ' We've had worse days'!

Castor Hanglands

2011-05-08T23:57:00.001-07:00

Walk around the new plantation area at the Hanglands this morning. Another four singing nightingales on top of the 14 heard in the main reserve area last week. Also two grasshopper warbler and good numbers of whitethroat, garden warbler and willow warbler. One singing cuckoo.

Nightingale

2011-05-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

I walked with Henry through the Hanglands this evening at dusk, crossing the north, middle and south heaths.

In total I counted 14 singing nightingale, including two top quality songsters who were really going for their notes! This is the hightest total I have recorded with six on the north heath, five on the middle heath and another three in the southern area of the reserve. I haven't yet explored the new plantations where there are usually another 3-4 songsters. Looks like a very good year for them here.

HILLS & HOLES 27/04/2011

2011-04-28T10:10:00.001-07:00

Went to Hills & Holes Barnack primarily to see this years Pasque flowers. However none to be seen. Do not know whether it has been too dry for them or they have already finished early.
They are normally around from middle of April to middle of May.

There were some yellow rock roses in flower though and these are not normally seen to the back end of May.

There were a lot of Common Heath Moths flying around looking for vetches. These fly more like a butterfly than a moth and the males have a distintive feathery antennae as in the photo. Also saw several Green Hairstreak butterflies on the hawthorn bushes. When they are sitting perfectly still they blend in very well with the surrounding leaves.

Heard and saw 2 Lesser Whitethroats.

Etton-Maxey Pits

2011-04-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

A cooler morning today with quite a strong north-easterly wind blowing, but nevertheless plenty to hear and see out along the Maxey Cut and on the reserve.

There were sedge warbler and whitethroat everywhere, along with my first singing garden warbler (in the usual spot in the Old Pits) and a purring turtle dove on top of the mobile phone mast there. Also singing lesser whitethroat, willow warbler, reed warbler and linnet. And a constant cuckoo!

On the reserve itself a single female wheatear and another first for the year for me - a common sandpiper on the mud near the pump house, along with two oystercatcher. There was also a pair of little ringed plover and five cormorant.

Along the Cut - at least 10 common tern overhead at various times and six separate little egret.

Swaddywell 19/04/11

2011-04-20T01:43:00.000-07:00

The bluebells on Heath Rd woods have not quite reached their full intensity but nevertheless provide a beautiful carpet of blue.

A pleasant afternoon walk taking in Swaddywell rewarded me with my first Hobby of the season. He flew in from the south low over the reed beds and then briefly alighted on a birch tree enabling me to get a very hasty shot before i had time to set up the camera better. He looked straight at me before flying over the ridge towards the firing range.

There were plenty of Orange Tip butterflies about. The males intent on courting the pure white females. Very few wild flowers in the pit but they were attracted to the two lilac bushes on the south face of the quarry.

Spring Migrants 12th & 13th April

2011-04-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday went to Bainton Heath & Lakes. Plenty of warblers now in evidence. Chiffchaffs Sedge and Reed warblers. Lots of Black Caps and Willow Warblers singing and heard my first Nightingale of the year on the heath. Also saw my first Speckled Wood butterfly of the season. Huge numbers of Sand Martins over the main lake. Today walked the Cut & Etton Maxey Pit. 3 Green Sandpipers, 3 Little Egrets, 2 Oyster Catchers and 5 Ringed Plovers. Also 2 Wheatears and one Yellow Wagtail on the steep bank of the the pit. No Cetti's Warbler about yet although i did see and hear two at Lakenheath reserve on the 8th April.

More Migrants

2011-04-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

I was out and about at the Hanglands at 6.15 this morning and the woods were teaming with blackcap, willow warbler and chiffchaff and just one lone grasshopper warbler, reeling in the plantation. I also got a brief glimpse - and a longer listen - to a drumming lesser spotted woodpecker. And there were plenty of redpoll buzzing around on the Hanglands, including one flock of 21 birds. Later on the way out in the evening to Etton Maxey Pits there was even a redpoll singing from the top of the copper beach in our front garden. Henry and I wandered round the pits on a lovely still spring evening, with skylark singing loudly above. We found another first for the year - a yellow wagtail, plus a flock of 37 golden plover.

Blackcap

2011-04-04T00:59:00.000-07:00

There were two blackcaps singing in Royce Wood this morning, my first of the spring and pretty early ones at that. Normally I would expect to hear them around the 8 or 10 April, not before. In fact, despite the cold winter most migrants appear to be arriving early this year, although I haven't seen that many myself yet.

There was also (another) red kite patrolling over Snip Green and a nuthatch calling in the wood.

Kites everywhere

2011-04-03T09:54:00.001-07:00

There seem to be red kites over the village and local countryside pretty much all the time at the moment! They are often over at Etton Maxey Pits too.

Yesterday at Swaddywell there were five in the air together, joined by two buzzards.

And today as Lesley and I set up the electric fence on Open Coppy field there was one overhead almost constantly during our 90 minutes there.

Little Ringed Plovers

2011-04-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

There were five little ringed plovers at Etton Maxey Pits this afternoon, just before I got soaked in a huge and unexpected downpour!

Also 4 redshank, 1 oystercatcher and 1 green sandpiper.

A flock of at least 100 linnets was periodically feeding and then rising up to fly over the Tarmac workings just south of the Cut.

Jacob Lambs

2011-03-27T05:40:00.000-07:00

There were three newly born Jacob Lambs at Torpel this morning - this is our first season with Jacobs so to get triplets is good start!

Coal Tit

2011-03-23T03:42:00.001-07:00

The coat tit isn’t a bird that gets a lot of attention, so I thought it worth mentioning that I found one taking nesting material this morning into a hole in a lone tree out in the fields south of Helpston – not the usual location for this woodland bird, I wouldn’t have thought – although it was only a few hundred yards from Rice Wood.

Sand Martin

2011-03-22T05:36:00.001-07:00

I finally caught up with the sand martin this morning at Town Bridge, two flying above the Nene.

Sunday 20 March - Goosander

2011-03-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

There were five female goosander on the Martin Pit along the Cut this morning and 2 oystercatcher feeding in a nearby field!

Saturday 19 March - Chiffchaff

2011-03-22T05:34:00.001-07:00

There were at least five chiffchaff singing around Bainton Pits on a glorious spring morning. While this harbinger of spring sang from the trees, the winter duck on the water - goldeneye and goosander - prepared for their journey north!

More Waxwings

2011-03-16T06:33:00.001-07:00

I popped down to the Town Bridge on Monday to see if I could find any sign of sand martin - so often the first of the summer migrants to appear. Two had been reported that morning, checking out the nest sites in the drainage pipes west of the bridge on the north bank.

I couldn't find the sand martins, but I did look up into the trees in the Charters beer garden and find 22 waxwings, before they flew off across the Nene and over to ASDA!

Mealy Redpoll

2011-03-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

The four lesser redpoll feeding on the nyjer seed this morning were joined briefly by a stunning mealy redpoll. This is a distinct species from our British lesser redpoll and arrives here in winter erratically from its Scandinavian and central European home.

They are quite hard to distinguish, but on this occasion with the mealy right next to the four lessers, the differences were quite apparent - large, thicker set with a paler, frostier appearance.

More signs of spring

2011-03-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

Spring was definitely in the air at Etton Maxey this morning, skylarks singing, shelducks displaying and a couple of transient redshanks calling and feeding in the mud.

Even more evocatively, there were banks of coltsfoot across the reserve, one of the first flowers of spring and a huge gash of yellow across the sight lines!

And on the drive across to Uppingham this afternoon, five separate red kites over heard - is there any more glorious bird?

More Redpoll

2011-03-10T23:55:00.001-08:00

In fact there were four!

Redpoll and Siskin

2011-03-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

There was a single lesser redpoll and one siskin feeding together on the nyjer seed this morning.

Early Spring?

2011-03-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

There was definitely a sense of spring in the air today! Two buzzards were displaying lazily over Royce Wood this morning and there were four dunlin feeding in their hurrid manner at Etton Maxey reserve too.

They won't stay but are a sign that the bird world is on the move after the long winter. There were also 100 teal, a shelduck and about 60 lapwing. Yellowhammer were singing from the hedgerow.

That said, it still felt cold!

Photos as usual courtesy of http://www.northeastwildlife.co.uk/

Nuthatch

2011-03-03T23:39:00.000-08:00

For the first time in 14 years, since I moved here, I heard a nuthatch calling in Royce Wood on 3 March. This beautiful bird is similar in habit to woodpeckers, but has a very distinctive repetitive call and tends to prefer more mature woodland, so perhaps its arrival in Royce is a sign that the wood is growing up!

New Year’s Day Walk 2011.

2011-02-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

A record number of members, friends and families joined this year’s event and began the Langdyke New Year with a gentle walk on the edge of John Clare country.

The route had been chosen and researched by Frieda Gosling and Jean Stowe to take us through the southerly end of the woods at Castor Hanglands and out into the fields overlooking Wansford and the Nene Valley to the village of Upton.

There the reward was a visit to the seldom seen Upton Church.

Once a chapel associated with Castor Church, the building is only used for services two or three times a year and was opened especially for this visit. It is possible the building will develop a role within the interpretation of the local countryside.

Certainly one object there has the potential to feed a research interest - a very unusual and seemingly not well documented sundial, maybe of late 16^th or 17^th century derivation.

Please get in touch if you have any ideas or knowledge of the origins of this early timepiece.

Fittingly for the turn of the year, there was still ice on puddles in the clay dome grassland of the Hanglands as a vestige of December’s deep frosts, yet also the promise of new growth, seen in the hazel catkins and the first showing of leafbuds on the honeysuckle. A sudden flurry amongst the brushwood birds was just enough warning to catch a glimpse of a sparrow hawk in flight.

Wellmore

Langdyke Countryside Trust

Jan 2011

A fierce predator

2011-01-17T02:23:00.000-08:00

Walking on the country path between Bainton ponds and Barnack i observed
nature at its cruelist. A rabbit came dashing passed almost brushing my legs followed in hot pursuit by a male stoat. 2 mins later the rabbit followed by the stoat came back in the opposite direction crashing through the undergrowth and out into the open field. There was loud squealing as the stoat gave a fatal bite to the neck of the frightened rabbit.

I walked back towards them and the stoat saw me and ran back to the hedge to hide behind a tree. I stood there for a few minutes and every now and then the stoat would peep his head out to see if i was still there. Eventually he was more defiant and came out and sat upright just staring at me intently. Finally he decided i wasn't going to move so he went accross to the rabbit and slowly dragged it back behind the same tree. I walked by and he hid down a rabbit hole, no doubt returning to consume his prize once i had gone.

It's amazing how strong stoats are that they can attack a full grown rabbit 3 times there size.

I saw a party of 11 bullfinches near the ponds. 6 males and 5 females. Also 8 bullfinches at Bainton Pits on Saturday. It's pleasing to know that there seems to be good numbers around locally as this is a bird that has suffered large declines in its numbers over recent years.

Fridat morning we had a Little Egret sitting in the long grass in the paddock next to our garden for about 5 minutes before taking off.

Bainton Pits

2011-01-15T03:06:00.001-08:00

There was no sign of any redpoll at Bainton Pits this morning, but there was a flock of c700 fieldfare on the field immediately opposite the entrance gate. These were later in the air over the main pit. On the water there were 10 male and 5 female goldeneye on the main pit and 4 male and 2 female goosander on the L shaped pit. Also good numbers of wigeon and tufted duck on the main pit.

Finally two woodcock in the birch woods near the railway line and a female merlin flying across the hard standing near the entrance.

Redpolls and Bramblings

2011-01-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

I went back to Bainton Pits this morning with Lesley and Henry. All the ponds except for a portion of the main pit remain frozen.

I was lucky enough to catch up again with the flock of redpoll that I found here on 5 January and which subsequently turned out to be mainly made up of Mealy redpoll - not our native lesser redpoll, but its cousin from Scandanavia. The male of this species is quite striking, with a pink-washed chest and overall 'frosted' look. He is also generally a bulky and conspicous bird, unlike the lesser which is pretty much a small, brown bird.

There were also three female goosander on the open water.

Later this afternoon, Henry and I walked up and down the Maxey Cut to the Green Bridge and back. The highlight was a highly mobile flock of about 70 brambling perching on the tops of the trees in the main pit area. This is the largest flock I have ever seen around here!

Little Egret

2011-01-08T04:13:00.001-08:00

A single little egret flew over my Helpston garden late morning looking glorious against the blue sky.

Bainton Pits

2011-01-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

There was only one small piece of open water at Bainton Pits this morning. There were 8 goosander there (four male) and a further pair on the Cut itself. Also a female red-crested pochard.

There was also a flock of at least 80 lesser redpoll feeding in birch near the main entrance. This is the largest flock of redpoll I have seen in the area by some margin and comes after a series of local sightings in recent years – any chance they are on the increase?

Waxwings

2011-01-04T03:36:00.000-08:00

The sight of 140 waxwings feeding near the Crab and Winkle Pub at Werrington is likely already to be one of the natural highlights of 2011. The birds were feeding on white berries in the car park, flying down in waves to overcome the defensive resistance of a resident mistle thrush and occasionally dropping on to the road to feed in the puddles.

This is an invasion year for waxwings - they seem to be everywhere. I first saw 92 of them near the Car Stop on the main Lincoln Road on 29 December.

Photo courtesy of David Cowcill!

Frosty Helpston

2010-12-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

We may not have had much snow in this area but the severe frosts combined with fog have created there own special beauty.
It was minus 9 when i set off this morning in search of some photo opportunities. I took about 50 shots but thought you might like to share in a small sample of local scenes.

Waxwings in West Deeping

2010-12-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

Waxwings were seen en route to the Nene Washes Walk on 11th December. But this morning four visited our garden in West Deeping.

Barn Owl

2010-12-06T01:48:00.001-08:00

A barn owl was hunting over the field leading into Royce Wood from Heath Road at first light this morning, over a very frosty landscape.

Goosander

2010-12-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

It was a welcome sight to find 24 goosander on the main pit at Old Maxey Pits this morning, including eleven of the stunning males. Later in the day there were at least 18 at Bainton Pits, on the main pit, which was largley unfrozen and also on the first pit at the entrance, along with 5 goldeneye.

There was also a woodcock by the side of the Orchid Pit. Two siskin at Maxey earlier.

The cold weather is now into its eighth day - the first snow was last Saturday. Since then I haven't seen much of particular interest, apart from two barn owls hunting north of Hilly Wood barn.

Langdyke Trust Fungal Foray Autumn 2010

2010-11-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

Around 40 members and guests took part in a thoroughly enjoyable Fungal Foray walk on Oct 31st. Event Leader Richard Keymer made a good decision not to trample through Bainton Heath where specimens were sparse, but to visit Castor Hanglands.

Entering at the track halfway along the Castor Road on the SE side, the group fanned out into the fairly open coppiced Hazel + Oak woodland, with a mixed long grass and leaf-mould floor. At first sight, little was to be seen amongst the autumn brown leaf litter, but this was confounded as the group “got their eye in”. Many specimens were discovered and identified as Richard and Mick Beeson had several reference books to hand. For me, the most eye-opening characteristic was the range of colour and form in the fungi - covering bright blue/green, dark ruby red, jet black and bright yellow. Pictured below are some of the finds. If you went on the walk and have other photos, please make contact or add them into the comments.

Finally none of the specimens were adjudged poisonous (as opposed to the death-cap found in The Hanglands earlier - see the LCT Autumn Report); in fact two were described as “edible, excellent flavour”. Please would those brave enough to have taken specimens away for cooking (parasol mushrooms, blewits…) pass on news of the outcome! Personally I am still looking for local chanterelles!

Parasol Mushroom
Macrolepiota procera
Common in open woods
Edible, excellent

Magpie Inkcap
Coprinus Picacens
frequent
Alkaline soil, usually beechwoods

?? Waxcap
Hygrocybe conica (or hygrophorous conica)
Very commom

Parasol Mushroom
Macrolepiota procera
Common in open woods
Edible, excellent

Stump Puff Balls
(Pear puff balls)
growing on fallen oak branch
Lycoperdon pyriforme
Very common

Field Blewit (foreground right)
Lepista Saeva
Frequent
Edible - excellent
Others
Wood mushrooms
Agaricus silvicola
Frequent in all kinds of woodland
Edible (not great flavour)

Cramp Balls
(King Alfreds Cakes)
Daldinia Concentrica
Very common
Almost exclusive to ash trees
(an old charm against cramp)

Laquered Bracket (Stalked Ganoderna)
Ganodernum lucidum
Bracket fungus with a stalk!
Red, then purple brown to black
Occasional - Roots of deciduous trees - all year
(you can just see the oak tree root at the point of attachment)
The stem is used for medicinal purposes in China

?? Common (or Frosty?) Funnel
Clitocybe phyllophia or C gibba
Common in deciduous woods
(Frosty funnel has a wavier margin and smells sweetish - these smelt of aniseed/ almonds)
Edible

Stagshorn (Candlesnuff )
Xlaria hypoxylon
Very common
Growing out of moss-encrusted rotting timber

Green Elfcup
Chlorciberia aeruginasceus
Very common on fallen branches of deciduous trees, especially oak.
The wood is left stained blue-green. In former times this was then compressed with different woods to form a colour-banded veneer for marquetry, named Tunbridge Ware

Collared Earthstar
Geastrum Triplex
Found under hardwood trees (an oak in this case)
Frequent

Thanks to Jean for loaning the book Mushrooms by Roger Phillips (publisher PAN, ISBN 0330442376), from which these identifications were made - any mistakes are all mine!

Wellmore
Langdyke Trust
Nov 2010

Fungi Galore

2010-09-28T10:53:00.001-07:00

Oak Polypore...Woodcroft

I don't think i have seen a better September for fungi than this year. A strong contrast of alternating warmth, cold and wet spells, means that you cannot fail to go for a walk, without seeing at least one type of fungus. This is a sample of what i have observed the last few days.

Turkeytail...Our Helpston garden

A very striking fungus with zones of white, grey, yellow, black & purple

Fenugreek milkcaps.....Bainton Pits

This poisonous fungus smells mildly of curry

Found in damp locations close to either birch, pine or spruce

Hen of the Woods....Heath Rd woods

In this case found at the base of a beech tree but also found at the base of oak and sweet chestnut

Common Funnel....Swaddywell

found in small groups in leaf or needle litter often along paths

Little Egret

2010-09-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

There was a single little egret standing in the water amongst the black-headed gulls at Etton Maxey Pits this afternoon and a juvenile marsh harrier flying over, battling against the wind as it head west.

Fungi

2010-09-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

I walked around Royce Wood this morning with Henry after some heavy rain yesterday afternoon and overnight.

I have never seen so many mushrooms - whole swathes of them extending across the footpaths and into the woods. Goodness only knows what sort - I will take some photos and post them to see if anyone can help!

Little Owl

2010-09-08T12:10:00.001-07:00

There was a little owl again at Torpel this evening, flying in its distinctive style between the hedgerow trees - a sort of shallow swoop. Little owls are regularly seen on the field, they must nest near by, although I didn't locate a nest this year.

LOCAL VISITS

2010-09-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

On a morning visit to Deeping Lakes on the 1st Sept it was noticeable that there were still plenty of butterflies about. I couldn't resist taking this photo of a fine comma specimen. They have such rich colours.
There was a good showing of birds around the lakes. I counted approx 250 lapwings which were accompanied by large quantities of starlings when they took off. There were 2 little egrets present. 2 snipe and 3 green sandpipers. A hobby circled round for awhile and as i was leaving a marsh harrier flew over being mobbed by crows. It finally dropped down in the reeds between the first lake and the Crowland rd.

On the 2nd Sept i went to Bedford Purlius in the afternoon. For those of you who don't know, this is off the A47 passed Wansford and just beyond the Wittering Airfield turn off.

Lots of Common Blue as well as Gatekeeper butterflies (Photo above) attracted to the swathes of Hemp Agrimony that are growing here. The wet woodland clearings odviously ideal for this plant. The Gatekeeper is sometimes confused with the Meadow Brown but has significantly more orange on the wings.

Another insect that likes the damp habitat here is the fly Sericomyia Silentis. It is one of a number of insects that mimics the look of a common wasp. It is also nearly as big. The larvae live in muddy water.

I saw this excellent example of Hoof Fungus growing on a dead birch tree. The fungus favours this tree as well as beech.

Betony (mint family) also seems quite common here in the grassy areas between the trees.

Today the 7th Sept i had a walk round Bainton Pits. The recent wetter weather is now beginning to favour the sightings of more fungi. These are Shaggy Inkcaps. The cap and white gills will gradually blacken and dissolve into black ink.

Hobbies and Linnets

2010-09-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

There seem to be hobbies over Helpston pretty much all the time at the moment. Two visits to the Bluebell last week were graced by hobbies overhead and there was one each time I visited Etton-Maxey Pits on Saturday and Sunday 3 and 4 September.

There also seem to be a lot of linnets around - something we noticed earlier in the year. I came across a flock of 160 near the Cut on Sunday and Mike Beeson found 80 at Swaddywell the same day, along with 40 goldfinch.

Ringing Report - 1 September

2010-09-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Trapping a Spotted Flycatcher this morning was a real treat - a juvenile and only the second to be caught here in the last 8 years. To say they are a bit scarce would be an understatement. 4th Cetti's Warbler to be caught this year was a cracking adult male so 2 males and 2 juvs - all caught in exactly the same net in the reedbed and so was the one some years ago. Obviously some sort of Cetti's highway.

Hobbies were wheeling about the sky just after 0600 this morning no doubt filling up before heading south. Talking of which, some interesting fat scores today with some whoppers and some with no fat at all. The Nightingale was ringed as an adult male in April 2009, retrapped in May this year and again today. It had hardly any fat so it it may be using Bainton as a refueling stop on it's journeys up and down or it could just be that I didn't catch it again - but over two summers of ringing? I suspect it's not a local bird and just passing through.

Anyway, CES 2010 is now complete. Overall gut feeling its that it's been a better summer with some spp e.g. Linnet doing very well.

Our Helpston Garden Tues 17th Aug

2010-08-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

Although handsome with their shiny red livery this beetle is a garden pest that multiplies quickly and does considerable damage to both the leaves and the buds of garden lillies. It is infact aptly called the lily beetle. Look out for the larvae which cover themselves with slimy black excrement which looks like bird droppings on the lily storks. We have had to resort to sybol insecticide as the only thorough means of destroying them. They have been regular visitors to our garden both this month and during July.

We continue to get regular visits from a muntjac. Recently he has taken to trampling over the vegtable plot to the annoyance of my wife. However he doesn't appear to have eaten anything destined for our plates!

We often talk about the beauty of our butterflies but some of our moths have equally attractive colours.

Two moths which i have spotted in the garden recently are shown below.

First a male green silver -lines on the rockery nearest the house.The male is identified by the pink fringes to the wings. They have a preference for oak but are found on or near a number of deciduous trees. On the wing May to Sept

Secondly a dusky sallow moth in our herbaceous border. Feeds on both wild and garden flowers as well as grasses and the seeds of developing cereals. On the wing July to Sept

Ketton Quarry Monday 16th Aug

2010-08-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

This is a very matured limestone quarry surrounded by woods, that offers shelter to many wildflowers and insects and well worth a regular look.
One of the most abundent flowers here at this time of the year is yellow-wort which thrives on the limestone soil. It has quite a long flowering period from middle June to middle of Oct. This plant can be confused with common centaury. However the stalk passes through the centre of the leaves as can be seen in the photo which seperates it from centaury.

The soldier beetle is common insect of limestone and chalk grassland. These appear to be particularly abundent this year. These two are mating on wild parsnip.

There are plenty of marbled white butterflies in this quarry. We are lucky in our area in being able to see them in a number of limestone grass areas. The largest number being present at Hills & Holes Barnack. They are mainly on the wing from July to Sept.

An attractive tawny butterfly here is the Wall Brown. They hide themselves away when it is cloudy and like a lot of butterflies most active in bright sunny weather. There are two generations. One in May & June & one in July & Aug.

Although common in many grassy areas i took this photo of meadow browns as it nicely shows the difference between the male and female. The male is the darker one with less orange on the wings.

A very pleasant spot for a stroll which i'm sure will provide interest at any time of the year.

Ringing Report from Chris Hughes

2010-07-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

Another good session with plenty of juvs around (4 of the juv Reed Warblers were caught on the heath where they were presumably feeding) and another juv Nightingale ringed. Great to retrap (again) the Nightingale ringed as a tiny juv on 12 June. Soon be off to Africa hopefully.

Linnets are having an incredible year. Some years none are around at all but this year is the best ever with 17 ringed so far. Also, the 3 Goldfinches were a real surprise as the last one ringed was in 2007 (just 1 that year) with a handful 2 years prior to that.

Castor Hanglands Monday 26th July

2010-07-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning i started at my favourite area of Castor Hanglands by the ponds. Very quiet and hardly a bird to be seen. However i found this lovely example of marsh woundwort. A favourite of mine as the flowers are very orchid like.
Also i managed to get this shot of a blue tailed damselfly perched on a floating dead reed.

Moving on to the woodland rides i headed for the area where i normaly see white admirals this time of year. I hung around for about 20 mins watching 2 flitting around the oak leaves above my head. Finally i got lucky and one landed on the main track opening its wings long enough for me to take this picture.

It was infact to be my lucky day as about half hour later i spotted a male silver washed fritillary in a clearing. The male is recognised by the the ridges of black scent scales on its forwings. Again i had to be patient for maybe 15 mins before i was able to get close enough to get a shot. As you can see from his damaged wing and dull colouring he is a bit the worse for wear.

Returning by the pool area i was greeted with a fairly close sighting of a willow warbler searching in the leaves for insects.

All in all a very pleasant morning.

Our Helpston Garden & adjoining paddock

2010-07-20T02:56:00.000-07:00

I never fail to be amazed by the amount of wild life to be found in the garden. This week i have seen a privet hawkmoth on the garage wall.The second year running that this moth has put in an appearance in our garden. A 5 spot Burnet moth by the back hedge and a Roesel's bush cricket on the lavender near the front door. Funnily enough this came a day after reading Stuart Irons interesting article in the Langdyke annual report on the uk expansion of this grasshopper. I never heard the high pitched buzzing sound though. He or she remained silent.

A muntjac deer has visited on two seperate mornings. He seems to have been attracted to our small ponds for a drink and then gone back into the long grass in the paddock.

I can confirm that the turtle doves have nested in the paddock and successfully fledged 2 young. They didn't appear last year but had 3 young in 2008. From observing them over these 2 years it is very odvious that they require dense untidy hedges to set up home. In particular they seem to favour thick brambles growing over existing hedges and mature elderberry trees unmanicured by annual cuts. If there is telegraph wires close or above the hedge for them to purr from, all the better.

Bird Ringing

2010-06-27T03:45:00.000-07:00

6:30 am, very early for a Sunday morning, and me and a small group of wildlife lovers made our way to the Bainton pits. We were there for one reason, to watch Chris bird ringing.

Many birds were caught for the ringing, 109 in total, including Blackcaps, Dunnocks, Chiffchaffs, a Nightingale and even a Treecreeper. The group got a close up look at the birds, but also the ringing process. We even got to release some of the birds, a huge thrill for those whom had never handled a bird.

Castor Hanglands

2010-06-27T01:41:00.000-07:00

An early walk out this morning seemed inviting before the heat of the day invariably quietens things down.

Common blues, small heaths ,speckled woods and meadow browns were abundent including this male orange tip.

I was rewarded with a nice view of a couple of juvenile willow or marsh tits being fed by the parents and managed to get near enough to get this shot of them waiting for the next parent visit. Fleeting views of the adults in the leaves meant that identification was difficult.

Ragged robin is much in evidence growing in the damper open spots.

Nightingale, grasshopper warbler, whitethroats and willow warbler were all heard as well as a turtle dove. Talking of turtle doves, we had three adults on the telegraph wires at the the bottom of our garden yesterday morning. There sounds are heard in the garden everyday but i have not been able to locate a nest site yet.

OwlWatch

2010-06-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

After hearing that there were Owls nesting around Helpston, I just had to have a look.

For 3 nights I have wandered down to the two nest sights and sat listening intently. On day 1, the sound of Barn owls drifted around the air, but we were unlucky, as none were sighted. We were even more unlucky with the little owls, whom were nether heard nor seen.
Day 2, saw me just travelling down to the barn owls, for a longer stay. This time, the sound were very clear, being heard every minute or so, but still no sightings.

Day 3, back to the little owls. Sadly, we again, nether heard nor saw the delightful creatures. But all was not lost, as we did get the occasional glimpse of bats, swooping through the dusk air.

Little Owl - 21 June

2010-06-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

For the second night in a row Henry and I wandered out east of Helpston last night to watch little owls feeding their young. Good views of the adults, but the young are still, I think, in the nest. The noise is quite something - a strange noisy wheeze eminating from the centre of a large ash tree. If you didn't know what it was, you would really wonder what on earth you were hearing!

Belgium blackcap by Chris Hughes

2010-06-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

You may remember that I controlled a Belgian ringed Blackcap on 8 October 2009 at Bainton. I've just received the details from the Belgians via the BTO. It was ringed on 16 September 2009 at Hamme Sint Anna, Oost-Vlaanderen (which I think might be Belgian for Flanders) and then travelled 354 km roughly northwest where I caught it 22 days later. We've known for some time that continental Blackcaps from the Low Countries, Belgium and Germany overwinter in Britain and this may well have been doing just that. Might have misread the long range weather forecast though given the winter we had over here.

Let's hope it survived and was back on territory in Belgium good and early!

Ringing Report from Chris Hughes

2010-06-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

Well Richard, we were right about the Cetti's as I caught a male in the reedbed - the second ever Cetti's for the site. Also, in the same net but on the next net round a stunning male Cuckoo was caught - a site first I think. Very handsome bird indeed and aged as hatched last year as it had retained 4 juvenile secondaries. Just to put this in context, over the last 4 years only 1 Cuckoo a year has been ringed in Cambs and last year only 34 (including 13 nestlings) were ringed in UK (out of 856,991 birds ringed). So to catch one of these beauts was a real treat and made the early morning start a bit more worthwhile than normal.

Other birds of interest were an extremely young Nightingale with tail feathers just emerging and 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the same net together. Phenomenal racket as they all took up the challenge to see who could shout the loudest, Dad kicking off and joined by 3 juvs.

Excellent total for the morning again boosted by good numbers of juvenile Blue, Great and Long tailed Tits. Not sure where all the Garden Warblers have got to. Don't seem to be many around.

Etton - Maxey Pits

2010-06-09T23:28:00.000-07:00

There was also a green sandpiper on the pits last night and two families of shelduck (8 young each) and one family of redshank (4 chicks).

Thursday 10 June, Bainton Pits

2010-06-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

Walk around Bainton Pits this morning - cool, grey and damp!

The Cetti's warbler was singing again at the SE corner of Orchid Pit and the kingfisher was busy at the entrance to its usual nest hole.

There was also a calling turtle dove, cuckoo, garden warbler and a family of long tailed tits.

Maxey residents tour

2010-06-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

In Langdyke's second trip to the Maxey-Etton pits in 2 weeks, we were accompanied by 11 Maxey residents (and a dog), for a walk around the central lake.
The residents really showed an interest in the wildlife of the pits, looking out to the water at Shell ducks, Red-Shanks and Larks. Two Hares were spotted at the beginning of the tour, running across the fields in front of us and we even caught a fleeting glimpse of a Barn Owl.

With the light fading, the group began to head back, occasional stopping for another quick look over the lake. The tour left the residents with a new love for the pits and all said they would return.

Weekend round- up

2010-06-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

There has been plenty of rain today, Sunday 6 June, but managed to get in a couple of nice walks over the weekend.

A walk around Bainton Pits and Heath yesterday was rewarded with more views of hobby - this time two hunting high over the heath. A Cetti's warbler was singing near the bridge over the dyke in the middle of the pits and there were turtle dove, cuckoo and nightingale calling too.

Today along the Maxey Cut - another Cetti's warbler in song accompanied by a cuckoo over Maxey Pits. There seem to be five common tern nests on martin pit and there was also a lone green sandpiper there. At this time of year it is always interesting to speculate whether this is a late migrant north, or an early migrant back south, having been up the Arctic, failed to find a mate and wandered back down!

Helpston garden & paddock.

2010-06-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

This week we have seen great crested newts in our smallest garden pond .They are about 6 ins long. We already have common newts so to find both is very exciting. The male great crested has a toothed crest and web hind feet. The female has a yellowish line down the back as shown in the first photo.

Also a turtle dove has returned to the paddock. Last nested here 2 yrs ago.We have heard the light purring for a couple of days but were rewarded with a sighting on the elec cable at the bottom of the garden this morning.

Common blue butterflies are very much in evidence now and these photos were taken in the paddock this morning. The vivid violet blue of the male always conjures up for me a vision of the lazy days of summer. In the last photo the under side of the male wing is on left and the female on the right .

Monday 31 May - Hobbies

2010-05-31T23:59:00.001-07:00

I watched two hobbies for at least 20 minutes last night hunting over the main pit at Bainton. Unusually they were hunting low over the water like swallows or sand martins, presumably picking up emerging insects, patrolling backwards and forwards across the water, occasionally shooting up after prey and hunching up in that familiar manner as they pass prey from talon to mouth.

Occasionally too they broke the surface of the water with their talons or even skimmed it with their wing-ends.

They were joined by 4 or 5 black headed gulls and a couple of common terns. A kingfisher too flashed over the water and there were about 50 swifts overhead with a cuckoo calling in the background. Nightingale and garden warbler were singing on the heath.

Thursday 27 May - Etton-Maxey Pits

2010-05-31T02:24:00.000-07:00

A lovely evening walk on Thursday with residents of Etton around the reserve. We started at the Golden Pheasant and walked up the road and around the first, slurry pit.

A barn owl was hunting along the eastern bank of the reserve as we entered and was present off-and-on throughout the walk - surprisingly it flew off with prey towards Northborough, so isn't the Etton bird, after all.

There were 13 Etton folk in total. We also saw the avocets, and all the usual suspects on the reserve, but no sign of the terns - have they all taken up residence at Martin Pit?

Monday 24 May - Castor Hanglands

2010-05-24T01:26:00.001-07:00

A walk around Castor Hanglands in the cool of the early morning today - lots of noise from a host of warblers - lesser whitethroat, whitethroat, blackcap, willow warbler, grasshopper warbler, but most noticeably garden warbler, with at least 5 singing around the site.

Also at least three 'purring' turtle dove, a calling cuckoo and some vague nightingale noises!

Sunday 23 May - heat and corn buntings

2010-05-23T23:46:00.001-07:00

This weekend has been very hot indeed - quite a contrast from the hard frost of only ten days ago - temperatures in the 30s and bright blue skies all weekend.

Trevor Valentine and I wandered along the Maxey Cut on Saturday morning, seeing all the usual suspects, plus one banded demoiselle, my first of the year and a red kite gently drifting north eastwards. The pair of avocets were at Etton-Maxey.

Sunday was pretty much too hot to go out and about, so Henry didn't get his walk until nearly 8pm. But we wandered along and across the Maxey Cut, taking advantage of the new gravel riff near the Helpston Road bridge to paddle in the cool water! Terns were fishing along the Cut, there were 7 on the Martin pit, with 2 oystercatcher and 2 shelduck.

Two corn buntings were singing as we walked along - one near the road and the other by Martin Pit.

Thursday 20 May, Little Owl and Hobby

2010-05-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

A short walk across the fields opposite my house at dusk with Henry - a late hobby flew across the path and over towards College Cottages - this is the second I have seen in the village this week. And the little owl flew out of its usual tree skimming across the rape field in the last light.

Wednesday 19 May, Nene Washes Walk

2010-05-20T23:09:00.001-07:00

The annual Langdyke walk along the Central Drove of the RSPB reserve took place on Wednesday night in unseasonably warm conditions - this is usually a chilly walk!

Nineteen members and guests gathered at the entrance to the reserve and were immediately rewarded by views of black tailed godwit, drumming snipe, redshank, lapwing and the sound of a calling corncrake! It is only two years since we heard our first corncrake here, on this walk we heard at least six! A male garganey also flew past soon after our arrival!

The walk was full of wonderful sights and sounds - black tailed godwits seemed to be everywhere, we found another male garganey, 1 little egret and all the usual waders. A barn owl was patrolling along the southern bank of the washes towards Bassenhally Farm and was seen again crossing the Drove at the end of the walk. Finally in the gathering dusk we watched a hobby hawking under the power lines over towards Whittlesey, darting to and fro and then hunhcing up in that characteristic way as it takes prey to mouth.

And the corncrake continued to call as we departed about 9.20pm. We had got within touching distance of one that was calling from the grass along the drove, but still couldn't find it!

Picture of a hobby courtesy of www.northeastwildlife.co.uk

Sunday 16 May, Weekend Round Up

2010-05-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

A warm and sunny weekend.

I stopped off at Etton-Maxey on my way to get fish and chips on Friday from Market Deeping - there was a red-crested pochard there and one avocet.

I wandered over to the reserve again on Saturday morning with Henry. There seems to be no sign of the wheatears any more, but there were two avocets today (they have been seen since Thursday), raising hopes that they might breed again as they did in 2008. They were both resting on the mud, when I was there.

A red kite was over the village during the Church fete on Saturday afternoon - they often seem to turn up for the various church and school festivals - do the crowds of people attract their attention in some way?

Back again to Etton-Maxey on Sunday - on the way to and from the tip! Saw one avocet from the hard standing and also a little egret.

At Swaddywell on Sunday evening with Frieda, Jean, Ivan and Eileen - we saw one female wheatear and a male sparrowhawk. The lesser whitethroat was singing loudly from the bramble near the bird feeders.

Later playing tennis with Mads and Tom, a hobby over Helpston Post office and a male sparrowhawk overhead too. Swifts and house martins in the air!

Brown Hares

2010-05-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Over the last week I have seen brown hares around the Maxey Cut quite regularly. There were three together on the scraped area immediately east of the Helpston, another in a field of rape and two at the Etton-Maxey reserve.

Natural riches at Ground Level

2010-05-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

The Morels at the Hills and Holes were not the only “ground-level” items of interest during this (cold) start to May. To illustrate that an evening with the Langdyke Trust showcases not only the planned nightingales, warblers and owls, but also many other riches of our local limestone habitat………

On the Castor Hanglands Walk, (4th May) we found examples of St George’s mushroom - traditionally first seen around the end of April if not precisely on April 23rd. Interesting that like many other species, this is at least two weeks late this year?

(Photos courtesy of Matthew Hutchings via http://www.mushrooms.org.uk/ )

However that was not all - in the hazel undergrowth near to the open ponds at the centre of the Hanglands, (south-east side of North Heath), Jean Stowe spotted another limestone and season-specific item - the unusual Common Toothwort. This plant has no chlorophyll, so obtains its nutrients by becoming a parasite on certain tree roots - often hazel - see Wikipedia at Lathraea squamaria) .

(Thanks to Jean Stowe for the ‘photo)

Both the morels and the St George’s fungi are edible - indeed considered great delicacies, for those brave enough to go foraging. All part of the heritage!

Thursday 13 May - Frosty Start

2010-05-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

There was a hard frost as Henry and I set off along the Maxey Cut this morning at 6.15am - a real winter-hard frost, with the ground hard underfoot!

I found a common sandpiper on the Martin Pit and heard the Cetti's warbler singing from near the mobile phone mast. At Etton-Maxey the female wheatear was by her familiar rabbit hole on the bank, but no sign of the male.

I walked up to the hard standing on the Etton Road, hoping to find the pair of avocets that Brian Stone and Chris Lines reported yesterday, but there was no sign. There were however, 16 common terns on the pit and a barn owl was patrolling up and down the east bank and across the planted areas, offering great views of this beautiful bird in the bright morning sunshine. A lesser whitethroat was singing by the hard standing - a regular site this.

Walking back along the Cut, sedge and willow warbler were very vocal, there was a garden warbler singing by the green bridge and plenty of whitethroat and reed bunting.

Finally, back at the Martin Pit, I found a pair of corn bunting (also seen by Brian yesterday) in the rough grassland east of the pit. This is a dumpy and fairly non-descript bird, but has quite interesting breeding habits, the male being polygamous.

(Pictures of the barn owl and common sandpiper courtesy of http://www.northeastwildlife.co.uk/)

Jean Stowe's Morels!

2010-05-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

A walk around Barnack Hills and Holes in April, revealed a group of morels - a fungus that appears in spring.

The pasque flowers were just coming out and the hairy violets - a speciality of the site - were beautiful!

Wednesday 12 May, Maxey Cut

2010-05-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

Not so cold this morning and Henry and I were out at 6am walking along the Cut from the Helpston Road, all the way through to the Etton Road, first along the South Drain, then up to the Middle Lane.

There was a little owl peering out of the nest box on the middle land, quickly flying off as it saw me looking at it. There was also a barn owl flying off from eastern bank of our reserve as I approached along the Cut, flying off towards Etton. At almost the same time a hobby swept past, dashing off down the Cut and over the hedgerow and out of sight.

The male and female wheatear were still on the western bank of the reserve, close to together and in clear contact, staying mainly around an old rabbit burrow. They were flitting around by the pumping station when I was there on Sunday. This is getting to be quite a stay for them - could they stay to breed?

Lots of sand martin activity at their pit and across the Cut.

Castor Hanglands, Monday 10 May

2010-05-11T23:34:00.001-07:00

A cold morning today with frost on the ground and a real chill in the air. Henry and I walked around the plantation area of the Hanglands from 6.20-7.15am.

The key feature of a walk here at this time of year is just the sheer volume of bird song. Willow warbler in particular are abundant, but there are also good numbers of whitethroat, blackcap and chiff-chaff although I didn't hear lesser whitethroat today.

There were just two nightingale singing - one to the north of the plantation, towards the northern hunting tower and one in the Hanglands proper through the southern gate from the plantation. Also two purring turtle dove and one singing grasshopper warbler.

No cuckoos to be heard, but then it was very cold!

Maxey Cut

2010-05-05T01:30:00.001-07:00

An early morning stroll with Henry down the Maxey Cut this morning, (5 May). A little ringed plover on the Martin Pit and lots of sand martin activity around the nest sites.

There were two wheatears on the bund at Etton - Maxey, a male and a female. Also 2 oystercatcher, 3 singing garden warbler around the Old Pits and the Cetti's warbler again singing loudly from the SW corner of the Old Pits.

I was lucky enough on 3 May to get back in time from my weekend in Sheffield to see the red-rumped swallow at Ferry Meadows!

Mick Beeson reports the Ouzel at Swaddywell was there until the evening of 3 May, making that the 8th day it has been with us! Still 2-3 wheatear there too.

More spring observations

2010-05-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

My observations are not quite so species-rich as Botolph - but they add to the theme of variety and wonder in our local bird populations…

Tuesday 27th Northborough - the old meadows south of the houses in Church Street..

Beautiful mature swallows flying low over the meadows - all steely blue/black
and dark red as they flash by - direct from Africa.

Aerial acrobatics at low level from a buzzard, flying eastwards towards Paradise Lane, being harried by a single crow.

Wednesday 28th - Folly River and the Welland

All winter there have been good numbers of elegant tufted ducks on the Folly River; 2 or 3 weeks ago there were several groups each comprising 5 or 6 males paying close attention to a single female; now the winners hold the stage - three pairs only. Always it seems the female that “breaks” first into flight, calling as they do so, much more subtly than the noisy Mallards.

Standing quietly below the nesting box at the end of the Maxey North Level drain - then hear the scratch of the (female) barn owl as she leaves the box to hunt over a rough pasture.

The first cuckoo - a single male calling in the wood alongside the Welland, between the end of Deeping St James bank and the railway.

A lapwing over the fields to the north of Maxey Cut; the terns are back at the shallows by the Peakirk to Deeping roadbridge.