Sunday 4th May
A Warbler Walk With Andy Harding
Now I’m sure
you avid Birders are well acquainted with 7.30 on a Sunday morning, but for
some of us more genteel wildlife enthusiasts, 7.30 on a Sunday, normally means
just finishing off the evening meal with a cheeky little Cabernet Sauvignon or similar.
Anyway the sun
was up in a clear blue sky and there we all were, raring to learn the songs
that distinguish our Willow from our Garden and our Blackcap from our Whitethroat.
We appeared to
have chosen a very good day, because after a quick briefing from Andy and within seconds of setting out into the meadow
behind the centre, our ears were being tested by a veritable Smörgåsbord of songs and calls.
Sedge in full song
Down by the reeds the scratchy but
variable tunes of Sedge Warblers competed with the very similar but more
monotonous songs of the Reed Warbles. Chiffchaffs were easy to pick out in the
background with their name sake calls and even easier to identify were the
explosive calls of a Cetti’s that erupted out of the undergrowth sometimes on
our right and sometimes on our left – but one thing remained constant – we could
never see it.
The elusive Cetti's (I think)
As we moved on around the reserve we experienced
the constant Garden Warblers and enjoyed the rise and fall of Willow Warblers
and learnt both the melodic songs and the angry “wheets” of Blackcap.
Reed Warbler
Not all the birds knew we were warbler
orientated that morning, the Cuckoo’s call often punctuated the trees around
the lake and Little Grebes whickered in the backwaters of St Peters where we are sure they breed.
Talking of locally breeding birds – the multi-purpose
Kingfisher Bank now appears to be the new maternity home for a small group of
Sand Martins who were going in and out of all four nest chambers.
Sand Martin entering the KFB (picture by Peter Barnes)
Andy complained that we had built it far
too small and needed to extend it another 30 metres along the bund with at
least a couple of dozen more breeding chambers to accommodate “a real colony of
Martins”. Fortunately for Andy those of us there who had spilt blood sweat and
tears in building the KFB were in a very good mood – otherwise he may have had
a very soggy walk back to the centre.
The morning finished with coffee and
bickies back at the centre before a few of us engaged in some freelance
photography. Andy went off to try and snap some Sedge Warblers only to return
to excitedly inform us that he had almost (literally) stumbled over a Gadwalls
nest – one of very few pairs of these birds to be found breeding locally we
were informed.
Mute point
As we drifted away home I couldn’t help
reflecting, it had been yet another of those perfect HESC mornings.
