Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird count which produced the following:

Blackbird 6, Bullfinch 1, Chaffinch 1, Dunnock 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Herring Gull 2, Jackdaw 5, Robin 6, Wren 3, Blue Tit 3, Carrion Crow 1, Chiffchaff 6, Goldfinch 6, Great Tit 4, House Sparrow 1, Magpie 2, Woodpigeon 5

Chesworth Farm - Bird Log

Mike Ayling carried our his regular bird count which produced the following:

Barn Owl 2, Blue Tit 8, Carrion Crow 5, Dunnock 1, Great Tit 1, Jackdaw 4, Moorhen 2, Swallow 8, Wren 3, Blackbird 1, Bullfinch 4, Chiffchaff 8, Goldfinch 28, Herring Gull 4, Magpie 1, Robin 2, Woodpigeon 6

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird survey of the farm which produced the following:

Blackbird 2, Bullfinch 1, Carrion Crow 3, Goldfinch 64, Great Tit 1, Greenfinch 1, House Sparrow 1, Robin 2, Song Thrush 1, Wren 3, Blue Tit 10, Buzzard 1, Chiffchaff 3, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Grey Heron 1, Magpie 3, Skylark 1, Woodpigeon 7

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his regular bird survey which produced the following:

Blackbird 4, Blue Tit 6, Buzzard 1, Chiffchaff 4, Goldcrest 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Grey Heron 2, House Sparrow 2, Magpie 2, Robin 3, Song Thrush 1, Woodpigeon 5,
Blackcap 3, Bullfinch 6, Carrion Crow 1, Dunnock 1, Goldfinch 4, Great Tit 4, Greenfinch 2, Herring Gull 3, Jackdaw 2, Moorhen 2, Skylark 1, Whitethroat 2, Wren 2

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird survey of the Farm which produced the following birds:

Blackbird 5, Blue Tit 5, Chiffchaff 4, Goldfinch 6, Green Woodpecker 1, Grey Heron 2, Jackdaw 3, Linnet 1, Mallard 2, Pheasant 2, Robin 4, Song Thrush 5, Woodpigeon 10, Blackcap 5, Carrion Crow 2, Dunnock 2, Great Tit 5, Greenfinch 4, House Sparrow 2, Lesser Whitethroat 1, Magpie 3, Moorhen 2, Reed Warbler 1, Skylark 1, Whitethroat 4, Wren 8

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

White Fallow Deer - M. Ayling

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird survey of the Farm which produced the following list of birds and also an unusual encounter with a young white Fallow Deer buck. The full list of species recorded is below:

Blackbird 3, Blue Tit 2, Carrion Crow 2, Chiffchaff 6, Feral Pigeon 2, Goldfinch 5, Great Tit 2, Greenfinch 4, House Sparrow 2, Linnet 1, Moorhen 3, Reed Warbler 2, Skylark 1, Whitethroat 6, Wren 6, Blackcap 6, Bullfinch 1, Chaffinch 1, Dunnock 2, Garden Warbler 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Herring Gull 2, Jackdaw 3, Magpie 5, Nuthatch 1, Robin 6, Song Thrush 2, Woodpigeon 11

Fallow Deer 1, Grey Squirrel 1

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Rabbit eyeing up the Pygmy Goat House - M. Ayling

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird survey which produced the follwing:

Blackbird 4, Blue Tit 3, Carrion Crow 1, Chiffchaff 7, Garden Warbler 1, Great Tit 2, Greenfinch 2, Herring Gull 4, Jackdaw 11, Kestrel 1, Long-tailed Tit 1, Mallard 4, Reed Warbler 1, Skylark 1, Swallow 2, Woodpigeon 12, Yellowhammer 1, Blackcap 4, Bullfinch 2, Chaffinch 3, Dunnock 1, Goldfinch 5, Green Woodpecker 1, Grey Heron 1, House Sparrow 3, Jay 1, Kingfisher 1, Magpie 2, Moorhen 3, Robin 3, Song Thrush 1, Whitethroat 2, Wren 6

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird survey which produced the following birds:

Blackbird 2, Blue Tit 3, Buzzard 1, Chaffinch 4, Dunnock 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Herring Gull 5, Jackdaw 5, Magpie 4, Robin 4, Song Thrush 1, Swallow 1, Woodpigeon 9, Blackcap 5, Bullfinch 1, Carrion Crow 3, Chiffchaff 5, Goldfinch 5, Great Tit 3, Greenfinch 1, House Sparrow 2, Long-tailed Tit 2, Mallard 1, Skylark 2, Starling 42, Whitethroat 2, Wren 6

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird survey which produced the following:

Blackbird 4, Blue Tit 5, Canada Goose 2, Chaffinch 2, Dunnock 3, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Jackdaw 5, Magpie 6, Moorhen 5, Song Thrush 3, Woodpigeon 6, Blackcap 7, Bullfinch 1, Carrion Crow 4, Chiffchaff 8, Goldfinch 6, Great Tit 9, Greenfinch 1, Long-tailed Tit 1, Mallard 2, Robin 5, Willow Warbler 1, Wren 7

Warnham LNR - WeBS Survey

Confirm Core count species list Site Name: Warnham Mill Pond Primary count?   Date: Sun, 9 Apr, 2017 Time: 08:30 - 10:00 Note: You have checked the 'No terns present' box, indicating an assessment was made. Species Count Comment Buzzard 1   Coot 5   Cormorant 1   Egyptian Goose 1   Great Crested Grebe 2   Grey Heron 3   Grey Wagtail 1   Greylag Goose 2   Herring Gull 4   Little Grebe 1   Mallard 7   Moorhen 1   Mute Swan 1   Red Kite 1 One above Heronry Tufted Duck 11   Total number of species: 15 Individuals: 42

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling: Carrion Crow 3, Goldfinch 2, Greenfinch 2, Linnet 1, Magpie 6, Starling 1, Wren 3, Bullfinch 2, Chaffinch 4, Herring Gull 10, Long-tailed Tit 2, Song Thrush 3

Eddie Bew: Robin 8, Chiffchaff 13, Wren 14, Blackbird 15, Blue Tit 11, House Sparrow 4, Woodpigeon 15, Great Tit 10, Moorhen 7, Green Woodpecker 3, Jay 2, Dunnock 6, Jackdaw 6, Canada Goose 2 (fly over), Great Spotted Woodpecker 5, Nuthatch 3, Common Buzzard 2, Goldcrest 1, Blackcap 3, Mallard 1

Rabbit 2

Warnham Moths & Birds

Oak Beauty - Warnham LNR

You might well think that as it is winter there would be very little by way of moth activity on the Reserves but this is not the case at all. Over the past couple of weeks you might have seen the odd moth start to appear in your headlights. These are almost certainly Dotted Border which is a dainty moth in the Geometridae family. The moth trap at Warnham has been pretty good with lots to look at considering the time of year.

Small Quaker - Warnham LNR

Common Quaker - Warnham LNR

Hebrew Character - Warnham LNR

As you will notice above many of the moths at this time of year are what everyone thinks of as 'boring brown moths' however this is for very good reason. At the time when the adults of these moths are on the wing there is very little by way of colour in our environment. The leaves are yet to come out and the habitat they frequent is mainly a brown, beige colourless one. So there would be little use being bright pink and green like an Elephant Hawkmoth as you would simply get eaten by a predator.

As the leaves come out and the flowers start to appear so do the more colourful moths which I will show you later in the year but for now, most of the moths we catch will be camouflage for the time of year so they are not boring moths at all but in fact very sensible moths!

Early Grey - Warnham LNR

Another interesting fact about our winter and early spring moths is that they adopt a very different approach to being eaten to that of our summer moths. You will be well versed in how active a summer moth can be around a light as they buzz around your living rooms and just how hard they can be to catch to release back outdoors. This is due to the warm ambient temperature that they have the energy to try and escape capture. In the winter it is quite the reverse due to the lower temperatures they simply play dead rather than try and flee to preserve energy.

Meanwhile Paul Shergold has been busy with the camera again around the Reserve and has managed to get some excellent photos. The Kestrel seems to have found a mate so fingers crossed we might have a new pair on site. The Teal have been seen displaying and finally I managed to see a pair mating in front of Tern Hide yesterday. The Mute Swan pair seem to be having issues with deciding exactly where they would like to nest and they now have two half built nests! Thanks to Paul for the excellent photos.

Kestrel - P. Shergold

Teal - P. Shergold

Mute Swan - P. Shergold

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Eddie Bew was down on the Farm today and recorded the following species:

Robin 6, Woodpigeon 22, Magpie 12, Greenfinch 3, Blackbird 10, Goldfinch 30+, Long-tailed Tit 4, Blue Tit 6, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Dunnock 10, Moorhen 2, Song Thrush 6, Bullfinch 4, Great Tit 2, Wren 2, Nuthatch 1, Redwing 10, Jay 1, Chaffinch 2, Jackdaw 6, House Sparrow 2, Canada Goose 2 (fly over Riverside Field), Mallard 2, Carrion Crow 7, Common Buzzard 1, Green Woodpecker 1

Grey Squirrel 1 and several Common Frogs croaking on Platt Pond

Owlbeech Woods - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out some survey work up on the heathland today and also carried out a bird count for us. The full list of species seen is below:

Black-headed Gull 1, Blue Tit 3, Carrion Crow 5, Coal Tit 1, Goldfinch 2, Great Tit 2, Jackdaw 2, Mallard 3, Robin 7, Stock Dove 1, Wren 3, Blackbird 5, Bullfinch 1, Chaffinch 2, Dunnock 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Green Woodpecker 1, Magpie 4, Pheasant 1, Song Thrush 2, Woodpigeon 13, Yellowhammer 1

Eddie Bew was also on the heath this morning and he recorded the following:

House Sparrow 4, Blackbird 11, Starling 3, Robin 11, Woodpigeon 9, Nuthatch 2, Mistle Thrush 3, Great Tit 4, Blue Tit 4, Mallard 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Song Thrush 4, Common Buzzard 1, Carrion Crow 6, Magpie 8, Green Woodpecker 1, Jackdaw 1, Dunnock 2, Bullfinch 1, Redwing 1, Long-tailed Tit 2

Grey Squirrel 1, Roe Deer 2

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird survey of the Farm which produced the following:

Blackbird 7, Bullfinch 5, Chaffinch 7, Goldcrest 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Green Woodpecker 1, Grey Heron 1, House Sparrow 2, Jay 2, Magpie 3, Moorhen 1, Robin 4, Song Thrush 4, Wren 2, Blue Tit 5, Carrion Crow 4, Dunnock 8, Goldfinch 8, Great Tit 5, Greenfinch 5, Herring Gull 5, Jackdaw 5, Long-tailed Tit 2, Mallard 5, Nuthatch 1, Skylark 1, Woodpigeon 26

Warnham LNR - Weekend Round-up & Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS)

Greylag Goose - Warnham LNR

A dreary weekend on the Reserve weather-wise but there was still plenty of avian interest around if you were brave enough to venture out into the biting northerly wind mixed with sleet! The list of birds other than counted in by Mike Ayling in the Wetland Bird Survey were:

2 Little Egret, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Common Buzzard, 4 Canada Goose, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Pheasant, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Chaffinch, 8 Great Tit, 2 Blue Tit, 4 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Robin, 2 Dunnock, 2 Siskin, 2 Reed Bunting, 1 Coal Tit.

1 Roe Deer, 1 Wood Mouse, 1 Bank Vole 

Below are the totals for Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) carried out by Mike on behalf of the British Trust for Ornithology.

Confirm Core count species list Site Name: Warnham Mill Pond Primary count?   Date: Sun, 12 Feb, 2017 Time: 08:30 - 10:00 Note: You have checked the 'No terns present' box, indicating an assessment was made. Species Count Comment Black-headed Gull 26   Coot 3   Cormorant 2   Great Crested Grebe 1   Grey Heron 4   Herring Gull 1   Kestrel 1   Mallard 11   Moorhen 2   Mute Swan 6   Pochard 11 7m 4f Teal 6   Tufted Duck 21   Water Rail 1   Total number of species: 14 Individuals: 96

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird count shich produced the following:

Barn Owl 1, Blue Tit 4, Carrion Crow 4, Dunnock 1, Great Tit 3, Greenfinch 2, House Sparrow 2, Magpie 7, Nuthatch 1, Pied Wagtail 1, Song Thrush 7, Wren 1, Blackbird 13, Bullfinch 3, Chaffinch 4, Goldfinch 4, Green Woodpecker 1, Herring Gull 12, Jackdaw 20, Mallard 2, Pheasant 1, Robin 4, Woodpigeon 27

Owlbeech Woods - Bird Survey

Eddie Bew carried out his regular bird survey of Owlbeech Woods which produced the following birds:

Starling 1, Magpie 3, Carrion Crow 3, House Sparrow 5, Blackbird 7,Woodpigeon 5, Great Tit 2, Mallard 3, Robin 8, Marsh Tit 1, Blue Tit 8, Chaffinch 4, Pheasant 1, Nuthatch 1, Wren 1, Long-tailed Tit 6, Song Thrush 3, Dunnock 2

1 Grey Squirrel

Owlbeech Woods - Bird Survey

Eddie Bew carried out a bird survey of the heath which produced the following:

Starling 2, Blackbird 7, House Sparrow 6, Woodpigeon 10, Blue Tit 11, Robin 14, Magpie 9, Song Thrush 6, Goldcrest 5, Mistle Thrush 3, Green Woodpecker 1, Great Tit 6, Jay 2, Chaffinch 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Goldfinch 8, Treecreeper 1, Dunnock 6, Carrion Crow 6, Long-tailed Tit 12, Common Buzzard 1, Redwing 30, Nuthatch 1, Coal Tit 2

Roe Deer 2, Grey Squirrel 4

Chesworth Farm - Bird Survey

Mike Ayling carried out his weekly bird count which produced the following:

Blackbird 6, Common Buzzard 1, Carrion Crow 1, Dunnock 3, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Herring Gull 20, Jackdaw 11, Magpie 5, Pheasant 1, Song Thrush 6, Wren 1, Blue Tit 3, Canada Goose 3, Chaffinch 3, Goldfinch 8, Great Tit 2, Greenfinch 1, House Sparrow 1, Linnet 28, Moorhen 1, Robin 6, Woodpigeon 24