Having woken up early, around 4am(!), I decided to get out early and go to Writtle in search of the huge crow/unlikely Raven I saw on Saturday. I took a circular route to the Agricultural College via the footpath leading from St John's Road to Fox Burrows Lane, then west along the lane to Lordship Road and the start of the east/west bridleway. I saw a few crows here, flying off from the college heading south-east. I just had time to get my binoculars on them before the disappeared behind the trees, just time to notice a larger one had a chevron shaped tail, but too brief to say if it was a Raven or just wishful thinking. Truth be told the rarity of Ravens here leads me to doubt I have seen one. The crow I saw on Saturday certainly was an order of magnitude bigger than the other Carrion Crows I've seen and comparing tails of other crows the chevron tail was definitely different, but different enough to be a sign it was a Raven? I'd only believe it if I got a photo of the bird and it was corroborated by an experienced birdwatcher.
Heading on along the bridleway through the college I stopped at the new reservoir, a foolhardy Swallow overhead blown around by the gusting winds. Very quiet here, no sheep in the field behind today and very few birds around on the water - a few Tufted Ducks, a mallard with her large collection of ducklings, a few lesser black-backed gulls. I scanned the water's edge slowly and could see no sign of the Little Ringed Plovers. I watched a mallard close to the near bank and then some movement caught my eye and what had been just another lump of mud became a rather angry plover! It was so small and had sat so still among the foam at the bank that I hadn't even seen it, even in motion it pushed my 8x binoculars to the limit to watch it! A stretched wing and a flurry of action sent the mallard off and the Little Ringed Plover disappeared into the weeds out of sight below the rise of the land. The action was rather defensive and I wonder if these plovers are nesting here - would be great if they are!
Moving on, past the hiding Whitethroats (even more elusive among the foliage blown about by the winds) and a lone Stock Dove in a ploughed field, near the end of the bridleway I saw a few insects flying as the clouds had thinned slightly. I wondered if this might bring out the swallows and then as I thought it I saw a House Martin flash by! Ok, so not a Swallow as such, but pretty good timing all the same! Some more followed and I watched them for a while then walked on to the gate where I'd watched a Cuckoo on Saturday. I could see the large tree where it perched but all was quiet, just a Carrion Crow feeding down amongst the crop stems. I turned back along the bridleway and a Pied Wagtail was energetically wandering around the path, a bird I always love to see, one of my oldest favourites. By now there was quite a crowd of Martins swirling overhead so I tried to see if I could get a few photos of them in flight. Very difficult, their flight was so quick and erratic but I managed a few shots that came out ok.
Further along the path I spotted a Yellowhammer in the hedgerow, it's beak stuffed with nest material - a very encouraging sight and the best view of a Yellowhammer I've ever had, I usually only hear them calling for their 'little-bit-of-bread-and-no cheeeese'. Back to the reservoir I could see a Grey Heron had arrived but couldn't see the Little Ringed Plover, either out of my view or keeping still. I walked on through the college and then back to the village green, sitting at a bench by the duckpond with a jam sandwich... which meant that I was soon in the middle of a scrum of ducks and geese! Some of the smaller hybrid bibbed Mallards were very sweet and bold, standing almost on my shoes and as I offered them a morsel they nibbled at my fingers, something I wouldn't have wanted the large domestic goose to do!
I walked up to the junction of Ongar Road and Lordship Road and took the public footpath past the allotments and wound out through the college land again, crossing the stream a couple of times and looping back south to Great Oxney Green, attempting to photograph an Orange Tip butterfly along the way and managing to misfocus my little camera. I tried to get out my SLR but the butterfly flew off before I could. Ah well, another time perhaps. Still, as passed horses in a meadow and approached Victoria Road I saw a fox jump up from the long grass off in the empty meadow to the right and dash towards the high weeds by the fence! I didn't see where it went, I lost it when it disappeared into the tall weeds, but was really great to see a fox out in a slightly more rural area! That was the last nature of the day, I reached the village and walked back to Writtle along the main road and from there took the bus back home.
Heading on along the bridleway through the college I stopped at the new reservoir, a foolhardy Swallow overhead blown around by the gusting winds. Very quiet here, no sheep in the field behind today and very few birds around on the water - a few Tufted Ducks, a mallard with her large collection of ducklings, a few lesser black-backed gulls. I scanned the water's edge slowly and could see no sign of the Little Ringed Plovers. I watched a mallard close to the near bank and then some movement caught my eye and what had been just another lump of mud became a rather angry plover! It was so small and had sat so still among the foam at the bank that I hadn't even seen it, even in motion it pushed my 8x binoculars to the limit to watch it! A stretched wing and a flurry of action sent the mallard off and the Little Ringed Plover disappeared into the weeds out of sight below the rise of the land. The action was rather defensive and I wonder if these plovers are nesting here - would be great if they are!
Moving on, past the hiding Whitethroats (even more elusive among the foliage blown about by the winds) and a lone Stock Dove in a ploughed field, near the end of the bridleway I saw a few insects flying as the clouds had thinned slightly. I wondered if this might bring out the swallows and then as I thought it I saw a House Martin flash by! Ok, so not a Swallow as such, but pretty good timing all the same! Some more followed and I watched them for a while then walked on to the gate where I'd watched a Cuckoo on Saturday. I could see the large tree where it perched but all was quiet, just a Carrion Crow feeding down amongst the crop stems. I turned back along the bridleway and a Pied Wagtail was energetically wandering around the path, a bird I always love to see, one of my oldest favourites. By now there was quite a crowd of Martins swirling overhead so I tried to see if I could get a few photos of them in flight. Very difficult, their flight was so quick and erratic but I managed a few shots that came out ok.
Further along the path I spotted a Yellowhammer in the hedgerow, it's beak stuffed with nest material - a very encouraging sight and the best view of a Yellowhammer I've ever had, I usually only hear them calling for their 'little-bit-of-bread-and-no cheeeese'. Back to the reservoir I could see a Grey Heron had arrived but couldn't see the Little Ringed Plover, either out of my view or keeping still. I walked on through the college and then back to the village green, sitting at a bench by the duckpond with a jam sandwich... which meant that I was soon in the middle of a scrum of ducks and geese! Some of the smaller hybrid bibbed Mallards were very sweet and bold, standing almost on my shoes and as I offered them a morsel they nibbled at my fingers, something I wouldn't have wanted the large domestic goose to do!
I walked up to the junction of Ongar Road and Lordship Road and took the public footpath past the allotments and wound out through the college land again, crossing the stream a couple of times and looping back south to Great Oxney Green, attempting to photograph an Orange Tip butterfly along the way and managing to misfocus my little camera. I tried to get out my SLR but the butterfly flew off before I could. Ah well, another time perhaps. Still, as passed horses in a meadow and approached Victoria Road I saw a fox jump up from the long grass off in the empty meadow to the right and dash towards the high weeds by the fence! I didn't see where it went, I lost it when it disappeared into the tall weeds, but was really great to see a fox out in a slightly more rural area! That was the last nature of the day, I reached the village and walked back to Writtle along the main road and from there took the bus back home.
A House Martin against the overcast sky
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