Chick feeding time

A freshening NW wind. Mainly sunny but still quite cool, it never reached 15°C.

Middleton Nature Reserve

Both myself (Malcolm) and Janet checked around lunchtime. There were only a few insects on the wing, and most of those were disturbed. Between us we managed.

Dragonflies:

Emperor 1

Broad-Bodied Chaser several

Four-Spotted chaser several

Black-Tailed Skimmer 3

Common Darter 1

Black-Tailed Skimmer

Butterflies:

Peacock 1

Speckled Wood 4

Orange Tip 1 female

Common Blue 1 female

Small Heath 1

Moths:

Silver Y several

Burnet Companion 3

Mute Swan female still sitting on nest, male seemingly becoming more detached

Shelduck on main pond

Tufted Ducks on "no swimming" pond

Mallard 13

Gadwall 1 male 

Coot 4 plus 1 chick.

Moorhen 3 plus 1 chick

Little Grebe 1 plus 2 chicks. First it was feeding.

Whatever it caught, it must have been tiny as it wasn't visible in its bill as it dashed over to feed a chick. Or, perhaps it had just been feeding itself and was keen to get back to its chicks.

Warblers, not many were singing, but eventually the following were heard.

Cetti's warbler, Reed warbler, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.

This Chiffchaff was singing both the regular notes plus a variation at a different pitch, sounding like an echo of itself. Its bill looks "pursed" when it was making the softer notes, a bit like a bad ventriloquist!

Young Blue Tit being fed
Other youngsters seen today included Common Whitethroat and Bullfinch 

An unusually plump, likely pregnant, Grey Squirrel