Friday 9th May

It is yet another beautiful day today. After being tied up with work this week it was nice to be able to get out for a walk this morning, albeit for just over an hour. I was without my notebook today so my sightings are summarised.

Lots of Blackcap and Whitethroat were heard singing, just a handful of Chiff Chaffs were heard singing, a male Linnet sang from a Hawthorn, a Nuthatch sang from an Oak on Jenner’s Bank, 2 Treecreeper were heard singing in the Alder Carr, 3 Stock Dove were seen, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard drumming, 3 Pheasants called, 3 Green Woodpeckers were heard, a Goldcrest was heard, and 3 Jay were seen.

Birds seen on the Lake were 4 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swans, 3 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Shelduck, a Cormorant, and the countless Mallards, Coots and Moorhens. There were 6 Black-headed Gulls on the Lake, a Common Tern was observed fishing and then perched on a buoy - fantastic, my second ever record in the Park, a Grey Heron was seen along the Len, a Reed Bunting was heard singing from the reedbed on the Golf Course side of the Lake, 2 Swifts hunted insects over the Lake, and lots of Reed Warblers were heard singing around the perimeter of the Lake.

Shelduck

Common Tern

Also of note were lots of Orange-tip butterflies, several Speckled Wood and a few Small Whites were seen, Red Campion is now in flower, and the tents and stages for this weekends Radio 1’s Big Weekend have now been set up.

Red Campion
Silene dioica

Hawthorn blossom

Radio 1 tent

Saturday 3rd May

It was a lovely spring day today. Unfortunately my camera was still on charge from a previous day out birding, so no photos could be taken today.

11 Blackcap, 3 Chiff Chaff, and 17 Whitethroat were heard singing – still no Lesser Whitethroats or Garden Warblers! – 2 Linnet were seen, 4 Nuthatch noted, a Treecreeper was seen climbing up a Sweet Chestnut, 4 Stock Dove were heard singing, a Little Owl could be seen sitting just inside its hole, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard calling, 3 Pheasants called, a Cuckoo called from the Lake’s western edge, a Nightingale burst into song as I passed the dense woodland to the south of the Old Bothy – fantastic, my first in the park for the year, 2 Green Woodpeckers were heard, 2 Swifts were seen flying over the Golf Course – my first for the year, and a Goldcrest was seen in hunting small spiders in some Ivy.

Birds seen on the Lake were 4 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swans, 3 Great Crested Grebes, and the countless Mallards, Coots and Moorhens. There were 4 Black-headed Gulls on the Lake, a Grey Heron fished from the Lakes eastern edge opposite the Model Boat platform, and 9 Reed Warblers were heard singing around the perimeter of the Lake.

Also of note were the parks Horse Chestnut treesbeginning to flower, and the public now only have access to half of the Golf Course and Playing Fields because the construction of Radio 1’s Big Weekend music stages has begun.

Saturday 26th April

It was a gorgeous warm and sunny morning today, with a pleasant light southerly wind.

5 Nuthatch were heard singing, 4 Pheasant called, 13 Blackcaps, 9 Chiff Chaffs, and 20 Whitethroat were heard singing, 3 Stock Dove were heard, my first Cuckoo of the year flew across my path as I walked through the large area of rough grassland, 2 Green Woodpeckers were heard, a Grey Heron was seen flying south, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard, a Coal Tit sang from a Larch on the Park’s eastern boundary, a Goldcrest sang from an Alder by the Model Boat platform, 2 Treecreeper were seen in the Alder Carr, a Linnet called as it flew over west, a Cormorant flew south, and a Little Owl was seen perched on a bough of an Oak.

Magpie

Birds seen on the Lake were 4 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swans, 4 Tuftie, 2 Great Crested Grebes, and the countless Mallards, Coots and Moorhens. There were roughly 14 Black-headed Gulls on the Lake, and 8 Reed Warblers were heard singing around the perimeter of the Lake.

Also of note was a Comma seen on a Cherry on the Golf Course, my first Speckled Wood of the year was seen on a Hawthorn, and the Wild Garlic are blooming on the edge of the River Len.

Speckled Wood

Friday 25th April

Under an overcast sky the temperature was rather mild during my walk this morning.

Today I was treated to 2 new bird species for the year with both of them being spotted on my first scan of the Lake, just 15 minutes into the visit. Firstly 2 Sand Martins were observed hunting insects over the Lake and, after hearing its distinctive call, a Common Sandpiper was spotted flying low of the surface of the Lake heading towards the eastern end.

13 Blackcaps, 7 Chiff Chaffs, and 20 Whitethroat were heard singing, a Grey Wagtail called as it flew over, a pair of Linnets were seen in a Hawthorn in the scrub area by the Inlet, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard, a Little Owl could just be made out sitting in its hole, 3 Pheasants called, 2 Green Woodpeckers were seen, a Treecreeper called from an Alder in the Alder Carr, 2 Nuthatch were heard singing, a Stock Dove was heard, 2 Jay were seen on Jenner’s Bank, and as I walked through the largest area of rough grassland 2 Swallows whizzed past flying west.

Birds seen on the Lake were 2 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swans, 2 Tuftie, 2 Great Crested Grebes, and the countless Mallards, Coots and Moorhens. The gull flock on the Lake consisted of roughly 15 Black-headed Gulls, and also noted were 6 Reed Warblers singing around the perimeter of the Lake, a male Kingfisher was seen catching 2 fish by the Weir - I tried to take some photos but just 1 was clear, 2 Greylag Geese flew onto the Lake, and a Grey Heron perched on a low bough of an Oak on the eastern end of the Lake.

Kingfisher - my only clear photo

Also of note are the Cowslips in full flower on Jenner's Bank.

Cowslip
Primula veris

Tuesday 22nd April

It was very mild this morning with the Sun just being able to shine through the cloud cover.

11 Blackcaps were singing, 10 Chiff Chaffs were singing, a Goldcrest sang from a Yew along Laurel Walk, a Grey Wagtail called as it flew over north, 3 Nuthatch were heard singing, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen in the Alder Carr, a Coal Tit sang from a Yew along Laurel Walk, 3 Green Woodpeckers were heard, a pair of Stock Dove were seen perched in an Oak, a Ring-necked Parakeet called from a Horse Chestnut on the Golf Course but could not be spotted, 6 Jay were seen, the Little Owl could just be made out in the darkness of its hole in the usual Oak tree, 8 Swallow were seen zooming over the scrub by the Inlet, 2 Pheasants were heard calling, a Grey Heron was seen flying east, 3 Treecreeper were heard singing from the Alder Carr, and 5 Whitethroat were seen and heard in scrub and rough grassland areas.

Birds seen on the Lake were 2 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swans, a Black Swan, 6 Tuftie, 2 Great Crested Grebes, a Cormorant, and the countless Mallards, Coots and Moorhens. The gull flock on the Lake consisted of roughly 27 Black-headed Gulls, and 2 Herring Gulls. Also noted were 4 Reed Warbler heard singing around the perimeter of the Lake.

Wild Cherry on Jenner's Bank

A visit at dusk to see the Little Owl proved successful. Unfortunately, due to bad light and not having a big enough zoom on the camera I couldn't get any photos. It was also interesting to see a large number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls flying north throughout my evening visit.

Whilst waiting for the Little Owl it was great to see the first Pipistrelle and Noctule bats of the year hunting the midges around the various parkland trees.

Saturday 19th April

I was in Mote Park from 10am to 1pm with the Kent Wildlife Trust on their second organised walk in Mote Park. The weather wasn’t particularly great with a pale grey overcast sky, a cool northerly breeze and a few spots of rain, but some good birds were seen.

I was without my notebook this morning so the bird sightings are summarised. Around 5 Blackcap were heard singing, lots of Chiff Chaffs were singing, several Nuthatch were heard, several Green Woodpeckers were heard, a pair of Stock Dove were seen flying from a potential nest hole, about 5 or 6 Pheasants were heard calling, roughly 6 Treecreeper were noted, several Goldfinch were seen, and a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers were noted – with 1 bird drumming near Jenner’s Bank. For me however, bird of the day was a White Wagtail which was seen on the Golf Course not too far from the old Ash tree, a few Pied Wagtails were also seen on the Golf course. It is the first time I have seen a White Wagtail in Mote Park.

Birds seen on the Lake were 7 Canada Geese, a Greylag Goose, 2 Mute Swans, a Black Swan, 3 Tuftie, roughly 5 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Little Grebe, and the countless Mallards, Coots and Moorhens. The gull flock on the Lake consisted of roughly 15 Black-headed Gulls, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, and a first-winter Herring Gull. Also seen was 2 Grey Herons flying past along the River Len, a Grey Wagtail was seen on the Model Boat platform, a Reed Warbler sang from a clump of reeds on the Lakes eastern edge, 2 Cormorants flew west, and a Swallow and some House Martins were observed feeding over the middle of the Lake.

Thursday 17th April

A chilly north-east wind blew throughout my walk this morning, with brief sunny spells and lots of cloud cover.

6 Blackcaps were singing, a Coal Tit sang from the top within a Yew along Laurel Walk, 10 Chiff Chaffs were singing, Willow Warbler sang from a Willow by the large reedbed next to the Weir, several Nuthatch were, 5 Jay were seen – with 1 pair carrying nesting material, 2 Stock Dove were heard, a Pheasant was heard calling, a Linnet was singing from a Hawthorn, a pair of Green Woodpeckers were seen in the rough grassland, a Treecreeper was heard, a Whitethroat sang from the scrub by the Inlet, a Little Owl was perched inside its hole in an Oak, and a Ring-necked Parakeet was seen feeding on buds of a Horse Chestnut on the Lakes eastern edge.

Ring-necked Parakeet

Birds seen on the Lake were 2 pairs of Canada Geese, a pair of Mute Swan, a pair of Tuftie, 3 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Shoveler, and the countless Mallards, Coots and Moorhens. The gull flock on the Lake consisted of roughly 30 Black-headed Gulls, and 4 Common Gulls. Also seen was a Grey Heron along the edge of the River Len, the first Reed Warbler of the year was singing from the large reedbed by the Weir, and a Cormorant flew west.