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March 2004
The end of January saw the River Kennet in full flow again and
already the water birds are back with Mallard, Coot and Moorhen
in good numbers and a pair of Little Grebe (Dabchick), a pair of
Mute Swans and Canada Geese at West Overton. In the same
location were seen a Kingfisher and two Herons.
Barn Owls have been seen on most of our country roads at dusk:
three in one evening along the Alton Barnes road. Early February
yielded a count of 43 Chaffinches in my garden but has not been
repeated. A Brambling was seen once and two Tree Sparrows are
regular visitors.
Rooks are busy repairing their nests. There have been good
sightings locally of Long Tailed Tits. Over 200 Golden Plover
settled in a field near to East Kennett barrow on 19 February,
probably a migratory flock.
3 Roe Deer have taken up residence on East Kennet barrow and can
be seen most days grazing nearby. Two Queen Bumble Bees were
seen on 11 February – rather an early appearance.
June 2004
Highlight this month was a female Hen Harrier flying low across
the road near Boreham on 14 May. End of April saw a Kingfisher
at a garden pond in East Kennett and Siskins in a garden at
Lockeridge. Green Woodpecker nesting on the outskirts of
Lockeridge and Great Spotted again nesting at East Kennett
barrow. A first for my garden is a pair of House Sparrows with
young in a nest box. Skylark and Corn Bunting along with at
least three pairs of nesting Lapwing in a set aside field near
Lockeridge. Also Whitethroat, Goldcrest and Song Thrush at other
locations in the village. A cock Pheasant and up to six hens
visit my garden regularly to feed under the bird table and
feeders. The trouble is they do like young seedlings in the
veggie garden as well! Oh well, some you lose some you win!
Swifts arrived early May but numbers seem to be down. Also there
are not very many Cuckoos about. I have only heard three so far.
August 2004
Late evening at the car park of the New Inn at Winterbourne
Monkton watch the Barn Owl hunting the riverbank. Red Kite at
Fyfield on 31st May being mobbed by three rooks. It flew towards
Lockeridge and has also been observed in the valley of stones
off the A4. Spotted Flycatchers at Lockeridge and East Kennett.
Young Long Tailed Tits at West Overton. Mid June saw a Short
Eared Owl hunting from post to post in a field at East Kennett.
Three reports of a female Hen Harrier on the Cutforth’s farm at
Shaw. The House Sparrows in my bird box are breeding for a third
time. A Pied Wagtail nesting in a water gutter at West Overton
successfully reared its young. Some young birds will leave their
nests before they can actually fly properly (Blackbirds
especially) but these will not be abandoned and the parent birds
will continue to feed them. Some will fall victim to cats, etc,
but they are still best left alone. Young Pheasants will soon be
seen on our country roads so please drive carefully. Have you
heard that the Council are making some of our country roads into
Quiet Lanes. They have got to be joking!
September 2004
The highlight of this report must be the sightings of a Golden
Oriole at Lockeridge in the last week of July; mine was watching
the Red Kite for 5 minutes and at times only 30 yards away over
the field at the back of my bungalow. It flew off over the
Overton Cottages towards The Bell on 8 August. Two gardens on
the West Woods side of Lockeridge produced young birds of the
Willow Warbler, Goldcrest and Bullfinch on 12 and 17 August,
probably the same families. A young Grey Watgtail at East
Kennett on 19 August. The brightly coloured Pheasant at
Lockeridge Dean is a Reeves’ Pheasant. This cock bird originates
from the mountains of central and northern China and is usually
kept in aviaries as ornamentals, so could be an escapee. Small
flocks of these birds have been introduced into certain places
in the countryside hoping to establish a breeding population.
The River Kennett ceases to flow again but still attracts the
Heron, probably looking for young frogs. A Buzzard or a Red
Kite? Identification really is quite easy: the Red Kite is our
only bird of prey with a forked tail, their calls are quite
similar, and the wings of the Red Kite are more pointed whereas
the Buzzard’s are rounded and more splayed. A little further
away was a Common Sandpiper chasing insects on a lawn at Stanton
St Bernard on 4 August.
November 2004
High winds over this past month have really made it wild about
the valley and made bird watching rather difficult. Listening
for that unusual twittering above the wind in the trees has been
virtually impossible - this is when feeding the birds in your
garden comes into its own. A garden at Lockeridge at the end of
August had Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, September 2nd; male,
female and three young Bullfinch, 5th, a count of 14 Greenfinch,
8 Chaffinch, Coal Tit and House Sparrow. A Lockeridge pond had a
Kingfisher as a visitor. August 29th saw 250 Swallows/House
Martins on the electric wires at the Kennett Valley Hall getting
ready for migration. There are still the odd ones about now.
East Kennett garden had a count of 43 House Sparrows and 1 Tree
Sparrow along with Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit
and Great Tit. West Overton garden had a Red Legged Partridge as
a visitor for the first time. House Sparrow/Tree Sparrow – the
difference: a cock House Sparrow has a grey head; a cock Tree
Sparrow has a brown head and its cheeks are much whiter with a
Black/Brown spot in the centre. Females are more difficult to
separate.
A large raptor sighted near Winterbourne Monkton could possibly
have been a Hen Harrier as one had been seen near the Ridgeway
prior to the latest sighting. A first for a garden in West
Overton was a Red Legged Partridge. Lockeridge gardens realised
13 Long Tailed Tits, 2 Goldcrest, 13 Greenfinch and 1
Chiffchaff. 3 Tawny Owls at Lockeridge and 2 at East Kennett
were heard during the first week of October. 10 October saw 20
Fieldfares at East Kennett. The latest count of House Sparrows
in my garden totalled 63, also 5 Goldfinch. The last
Swallow/House Martin was seen on 11 October. The Barn Owl is
still at West Monkton.
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