Paxton Pits Juveniles

Very much a nature diary entry as the heat haze yesterday afternoon made sharp distant images very difficult but what a wonderful 3 hours spent doing nothing but watching this year's youngsters  starting to learn their skills and showing visitors the delights of the reserve. I didn't see either of the two Kingfishers catch anything but they were very busy practising their dives while the Heron chicks were still squabbling and showing off inappropriately as teenagers do.  I only recorded six Cygnets but they were moving around a lot. The remaining Grebe chick was staying close to one parent while the other went off hunting and came back with a crayfish I think. The adult Heron was just trying to find something to feed those youngsters on or get them to leave the nest and do their own hunting. The Dunnock wins on the subtlety of its plumage.

Coot, Grebe and Herons at Paxton

Generally things are going well for our Heron brood with all three chicks now looking ready to fledge while the Great Crested Grebes have 2 or their 3 chicks still surviving the inevitable Cormorant and Otter attacks. The Coots seem to have been less successful - no longer sitting on the near nest and obviously renewing the courtship and mating behaviour.

Final Summer Migrants Arrive at Paxton

While the Heron chicks are getting ready for fledging with short exploratory leaps, the final summer migrants have arrived with the sky full of Hobbies and Sand Martins while the Cuckoo was both seen and heard. More images of the Great Crested Grebe family to come  - fingers crossed the young survive the Cormorant attacks etc.

Nightingale Hunt

A friend was keen to hear Nightingales locally so, on Wednesday, it was off early to Paxton on a hunt for this elusive songster. There were plenty of birds singing and even showing themselves well including the Whitethroat and Chiffchaff and even a Robin with a crossed bill got in on the act. It was beginning to get a bit warm so I was hoping that we were going to succeed and, at last, that wonderful chuckling song rang out from the deep scrub and entertained us with its variety of 'tunes' for a long while flitting in and out of the dense scrub. I only managed a fleeting photo this time. On the walk back the Variable Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles were waking up and we had time for a quick visit to the hides to check on the heron chicks, Coots and Grebes. 

Spring at Paxton Pits

In the last week, I have heard 3 Nightingales and a Cuckoo at Paxton together with Willow Warbler and lots of Blackcaps so spring is definitely here. While one of the Great Crested Grebes is busy incubating the eggs, the other is out fishing etc and catching surface insects. The Coot is sitting on the nest but its partner still brings in some hefty nest materials! The Cormorants seem addicted to collecting twigs etc to add to their already very large nests.