Heron's Tale

 It has been a delight watching a pair of herons at Paxton build their nest, incubate and then bring up 3 youngsters. They are not yet fledged so fingers crossed for them. The image sheet sows the dates and certainly support the facts on heron breeding below. It is also interesting the way the colour palette turns from reddish winter (autumn) tones to springtime green as the leaves come out 

 Grey Herons typically take about one to two weeks to build their nests. Nest building is primarily carried out by the female, with the male bringing materials. A female grey heron lays 3 to 5 eggs per clutch,  at intervals of about 48 hours. Both parents share the responsibility of incubating the eggs, which lasts about 25 days. Incubation often begins with the first egg laid, leading to asynchronous hatching, where chicks may hatch at different times. Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge (develop feathers necessary for flight) at around 7 to 8 weeks old. 

Coot Territorial Disputes

The golden afternoon directional light gave some great colours to the water and spray yesterday afternoon at Paxton Pits as the Coots repeatedly argued about the position of their territory boundaries while the Bluetits fed on the Willow catkins above my head (where did the 2 hours go?!!)

Paxton Pits Spring Walk

Yesterday morning was our monthly public nature walk at Paxton Pits, led by Mike who pointed out lots of  signs that the wildlife is waking up from the winter dormancy and making plans to reproduce whether plants or animals. The blue tits were busy in various areas collecting moss for their nest accompanied in one area by siskins. The latter may be winter visitors though there is a good breeding population in the uk (lowest in the East of England but showing a 44% increase since 2013). Lots of Chiffchaffs voicing their claims on good nesting areas with their calls. The insects are definitely getting active with the Tapered Dronefly, Early Colletes bee, the parasitic Bee Fly and Peacock Butterfly on the wing. Lots of signs of nest building, courtship and territory aggression among the birds and the Muntjac are much bolder when they need to build up body mass for breeding and territorial disputes.

 

Paxton's Bees etc

Yesterday was the warmest of the year so far with temperatures around 17 degrees at Paxton Pits and the bees and other insects were on the move. Here a selection - not sure all the IDs on the final sheet are correct - still checking!!

Paxton Pits Changeable Light

 Yesterday afternoon, I spent an hour watching the Herons and Cormorants busy collecting nesting material and various other water birds while the light changed from bright sunshine to heavy rain and then a rainbow.