Thursday 3 May 2012

Langford (Grebe) Lakes

With the day off work on monday and the weekends floods subsiding long enough to contemplate going out for the day, Nat and I headed off down the A303 to Langford Lakes to see what was about. The answer to that question was pretty evident straight away - Not alot!

Tufted Ducks and Canada Geese seemed the only birds to grace the water throughout the reserve, with even the usual Coots and Mallard fairly scarce.

Tufted Drake
Angel Wings? Canada Goose
2 Bird species however didn't appear to be lacking in numbers, I counted 17 Chiffchaffs in the time we spent at Langford, and I did manage to get a fairly decent photography of a singing Chiffchaff from the window of one of the hides.

Singing Chiffchaff
The other was Great-crested Grebe - on the 3 lakes they're were 12 birds, 9 Adults and 3 youngsters - definitely 4 pairs. 1 Pair still sat on a nest and another with 3 hungry youngsters. I don't remember ever seeing so many. Whilst watching the singleton Grebe from the camouflage of the hide, a Kingfisher landed on the branches a mere 10 ft from the windows, a blessing usually, but in this instance a nightmare as no matter how many times he returned to many branches obstructed a picture.

The Grebe chick (Out of Shot) proceeded to wolf down this fish whole!
Still on the nest.
Grebe family.
The singleton.
Not the most thrilling of days but shouldn't complain to much - I thought I'd share this pic I took on friday morning, before the rain returned down at Rooksbury.

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing so much worth doing as messing
around in boats." - Ratty (Wind in the Willows) this little chap might
need a boat if it keeps on raining.

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