First eggs!!

Popped down to Linacre for an hour this afternoon to show Jayne the Pied Flycatcher that I saw yesterday. It wasn't around today - arrgh!!! Whilst waiting though I had a quick check of a few nest boxes and got lucky with box 26 that contained five tit eggs - hurrah. Last year the first eggs were found on 15th April, so you can see how late there are this year. 5 is about half the usual total for a Blue or Great Tit, and the eggs were cold and not being incubated, so this clutch is still being laid. I'll check again at the weekend when, hopefully, the clutch will be complete and there will be a few more full nests. Hopefully the Pied Fly will be around again as well.

Box 26

 

A couple of Stock Doves were feeding in the field by the main entrance and whilst walking by the middle reservoir we managed to hear and photograph a male Blackcap. Can you spot him in this photo?

 

Blackcap

Before I went to Linacre I spent a couple of hours with members of the ringing group at Carr Vale, a Derbyshire Wildlife Trust reserve near Bolsover, where we set up a new feeding station and cut some net rides. Sedge Warblers ( a year tick) were singing all around us and hopefully we'll be able to ring these and other warblers over the summer.

 

Year List update:

124 - Sedge Warbler