A rather, mostly, quiet walk around....it certainly wasnt yesterdays weather! The weather person on the radio described it as 'grey'...which summed it up....thankfully it brightened up somewhat when I was wandering around....
With reports of more migrants arriving along the south coast its becoming more important to visit most of the site...wouldnt want to miss anything passing by or coming to settle for the Summer....
Chiffchaffs have increased to 13....possibly because, taking my own advice above, I visited a part of the pits I havent been to for a few days....
2 male and one female Goldeneye are present and must surely leave soon. The same can be said for the single Fieldfare and single Redwing found today.
Two Mandarin Duck were around. Im sure it will turn out to be two pairs on site again, as I saw 4 the other day, but today was one pair....or two different pairs at different times...
Bullfinches and Jays were present around most of the site, calling and...er....screeching.
Only 3 Buzzard today, calling to each other. Very nice, A Kestrel was sitting on a hedge over looking a large grass area, they always seem to have a thoughtful look to me.
So, what else is happening around the site....
Bluebells.....
I think the above Bluebell is probably a Spanish hybrid. Stronger than our native species several are already flowering. The leaves arent wide enough to be a genuine Spanish Bluebell and the flowers seem placed around the stem rather than on the one side.
Willow....
Blackthorn.....
Tennis Racket....er...?
Well....heres a strange plant....this is the rarer 'short handled tennis racket', latin name Whackerball dog-walkerii. Well, im guessing it wasnt dropped by someone on their way to the tennis court. Used by dog walkers to whack a ball distance...all im hoping is that this person isnt whacking the ball in to the pits, disturbing the birds....I suppose the obvious question is how the hell did they manage to leave it on the ground....
Mussel shell
Obviously a gull deposit. I suppose dropped from height to gain access to the delicious (if you are a gull) highlight within.
Ash...Fraxinus excelsior
There are a few stands of Ash on the northern side of the site. But as has been widely publicised, especially today, they are in serious trouble. And these will be no exception. Examining several in different stands they already seem to be dying, with brittle, dead twigs and branches. I dont know if its just dyback or just whats happening to them....whatever it is....it looks like its doom for them.
The reckoning seems to be we will lose 95% of these trees in the future. Eeeek! So it will become a a rarity much like English Elm. A shame. One of the stands at the pits holds a Nightingale territory. And with the amount of Ash on site there WAS potential for not only an amazing Ash forest in a few years but also the potential for more Nightingales to make these stands their breeding territories.
For the Ash it all seems bad news. Listening to a tree specialist on the radio today we will have to look to the future and what we can do, not what we cant. There are plenty of native tree species that can be planted, not to 'replace' these fine trees, as surely they cant be replaced, but to maintain a native population of trees to be proud of.
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