RSPB trip to Fen Drayton Lakes

Today I woke up at 6 o'clock to do my first Hemel RSPB trip. My dad brought me to hemel were I met the rest of the group. About 7:05 we left on our way to Fen Drayton Lakes. After about an hour and a quarter we turned off to go to a TESCO's. We went in and had our breakfast. After a while we left and were on our were to Fen Drayton Lakes again. Before we arrived at the reserve we had already began seeing unusual birds. When we arrived in the car park there were some reeds infront of us we looked around them and found a Marsh Harrier.  As the guide came to greet us there were other birds flying around. The guide led us around the left half of the reserve.























As we traveled round the we stopped off at many viewing points. At one we saw a few Hobby's.

When we came back from our first half of the trip we had a break and set off on another. This time going to the right. We carryed on going on see many more waders then we had seen on the first half.

DAY LIST: Any bird that has a ✔ next to it is a tick

1. Shelduck 2
2. Skylark 2
3. Graylag Geese 20+
4. Reed Bunting 6
5. Carrien Crow
6. Grey Heron
7. Marsh Harrier 2 ✔
8. Cormarant
9. Common Tern
10. Mallard
11. Great Crested Grebe 5
12. Coot
13. Mute Swan
14. Sparrowhawk
15. Long Tailed Tit 8
16. Tufted Duck
17. Hobby 3
18. Goldfinch
19. Robin
20. Whitethroat
21. Great tit
22. Blackcap 2
23. Blue Tit
24. Garden Warbler ✔
25. Willow Warbler ✔
26. Gadwall
27. Black Headed Gull
28. Canada Geese 2
29. Jay
30. Lapwing
31. Kestrel 2
32. Oystercatcher 1
33. Woodpigeon
34. Moorhen
35. Pheasant
36. Redshank
37. Common Sandpiper
38. Lesser-black Backed Gull
39. Green Woodpecker
40. Song Thrush
41. Grasshopper Warbler ✔
42. Black-tailed Godwit ✔
43. Pintail
44. Chaffinch
45. Sedge Warbler
46. Blackbird
47. Magpie

I also heard other species such as the Cuckoo, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff and Nightingale.

Barnes Lane

Today I went down Barnes Lane with my dog. I had heard there were Whitethroats There and thats why I choose to go to Barnes Lane. This is the route I took.

When I was next to the A41 on Barnes Lane I saw some thing on a hedge and raised m binoculars to see it was a Whitethroat.

Tring Reservoirs and Pitstone

Yesterday I went with my brother to Tring to go birding. We caught the 6:58 train to Milton Keynes and arrived at Tring 15 minutes later. We cycled along the canal to Marsworth Resevoir. Then along a road to Wilstone Reservoir and then back along the canal to College Lake. After that we went to Pitstone hill.This toke the hole day twelve hours 6:00-18:00.

When we first arrived at Marsworth Reservoir my brother heard a Reed warbler and we stopped to take a look. After a while I walked around the place we had heard it to see it from another angle.I still could not see it but a Kingfisher came up a few meters away and landed unfortunately I did  not get a photo or footage. We gave up and moved on were my brother heard a Sedge warbler he looked for it and found it. I trained the scope on it and saw it had a ring. I could not quite make out what it said. We took a few photos and went on. This is one of the photos I took.

 Later after Marsworth we went onto Wilstone and as usual we stayed at the pier. We scanned the water that lay ahead and found nothing, but as my brother was looking out through the scope two Coots began to fight. It looked very rough. I took as many pictures as i could one of them I sent to Herts Bird Club hopefully they post it up.

 While we were in the hide at Wilstone reservoir two Graylag geese wounder towards us. They walked along the bit of land in front of the hide and began to preen themselves.

                         A little baby Mallard swam past the hide with about another six and their mother.

After Wilstone reservoir and College lake we went on to Pitstone hill we did not go to Ivinghoe because the route we had gone last time had been to dangerous and otherwise it was to far away and Pitstone was very close. We climbed up the hill and at the top there were hundreds of Skylarks all sing their heads off. This is one of the pictures I got of one singing. All together I saw: 
Birds with a ✓ next to them are a tick for my life list.

• Magpie
• Woodpigeon
• Redwing (very late)
• Song thrush
• Kingfisher
• Grey heron
• Bullfinch
• Sedge warbler ✓
• Common tern
• Reed bunting
• Coot
• Tufted duck
• Graylag goose
• Mute swan
• Mallard
• Pochard
• Cormarant
• Canada goose
• Great-crested grebe
• Great tit
• Blue tit
• Dunnock
• Red kite
• Blackcap
• Goldfinch
• Shovoler
• Swallow
• Mistle thrush
• Little egret
• Blackbird
• Lapwing
• Chiffchaff
• Buzzard
• Moorhen
• Wigeon
• Common sandpiper (could be a ✓ but I think I saw one in Norfolk)
• Sand martin ✓
• Great spotted woodpecker
• Shelduck
• Oystercatcher
• Snipe
• Sparrowhawk
• Skylark
• Meadow pipit

That is 44 species.

Renhold and The Lodge

On Sunday my dad my brother and me went to Renhold to visit my grandparents.
While we were there I saw a few birds and at about 4ish we went to the lodge RSPB reserve. All the birds i saw that day were:

• Donnuck
• Collard dove
• Magpie
• Blue tit
• Carrien crow
• Swallow
• Sparrowhawk
• Rook
• Woodpigeon
• Robin
• Great spotted woodpecker
• Chaffinch
• Pheasant
• Great tit
• Coal tit
• Goldfinch

The swallow was the first of the year for me. I also took some photos.

 A rabbit eating some seeds from the floor.

 A Pheasant.

 A twig in the grass made to look beautiful.

Garden Birds

On Friday the last day of school I came home and was told there was a Blackcap in the garden I went to look for it. At first the search seamed hopeless but then suddenly my brother saw it and pointed it out to me. While I was out there I also saw some other birds and took some photos. 

A Chaffinch

A Great tit biting the buds on a tree

 

A Blue tit resting on a tree

 

A Chaffinch

College Lake

Yesterday I went to College Lake to go birding.  College Lake is in Tring with Wilstone res, Marsworth res, Startops End res and College Lake. I saw 29 speices I was hoping to see 30 but my mum came before I could. This is the list.

• Coot
• Canada goose
• Tufted duck
• Mute swan
• Lapwing
• Dunnock
• Reed bunting ||||
• Red shank |||||
• Shoveler
• Robin
• Blue tit
• Chaffinch
• Great tit
• Blackbird
• Woodpigeon
• Greenfinch
• Red kite
• Chiffchaff || ( + 1 heard not seen)
• Coal tit
• Oystercatcher ||
• Magpie
• Moorhen
• Carrien crow
• Grey heron
• Teal
• Common snipe
• Golden plover
• Common buzzard
• Wigeon

 

                                      A Reed Bunting very close to me in a tree near some reeds.

 

A Redshank wading in the water.
 

The same Redshank just longer footage.

A Lapwing near the octagon hide in College Lake.

Bird Race

Yesterday I went on a bird race with my brother it was from 10.40am-1.30pm. I started off in Love Lane, Kings Langley I went down Chipperfield Rd turned right onto a farm then walked into Scatterdells woods from there I went onto Barnes Lane onto common Ln then on Love Ln through Kings Langley woods down to the canal and then back to my house in Love Ln.On that trip I saw.

• Goldfinch
• Magpie
• Carrien crow
• Woodpigeon
• Blue tit
• Chaffinch
• Yellowhammer  ||||
• Coal tit
• Great tit
• Long-tailed tit
• Skylark
• Pied wagtail
• Buzzard
• Great-spotted woodpecker
• Kestrel
• Robin
• Black-headed gull
• Blackbird
• Starling
• Wren
• Mallard duck
• Moorhen

I was quite glad.

Kings Langley Woods

In Kings Langley woods yesterday I saw a number of birds with Theo my dog.

• Woodpigeon
• Blue tit
• Great tit
• Pied wagtail
• Dunnock

Thats about all i can remember.