2017 Review

Its not been a bad year really at the Mere with 96 bird species being recorded and with two new species being added to the list which now stands at 145 . Some old favourites returning after a few years absence and a record number of Common Scoter being recorded in a single flock . Butterfly species stayed the same as last year with 17 out of the sites 22 being seen , while Dragonfly species were up by two with additions of Black-tailed Skimmer and Blue-tailed Damselfly. We also ran a couple of Mothing sessions at the site recording 167 species, a few more are planed for 2018. January started off well first with Andy Goodwin finding a female Long-tailed Duck on the 11th it was last seen on 17th Feb a stay of 37 days, the last record at the site was in 1996 .Then John Spottiswood found a female Common Scoter on 18th , followed by Mark Wootton seeing seven Whooper Swan's briefly on 20th . And then two Waxwings appeared at mid-day in the east corner found by Russell Stonier . February was quite as normal but Goldeneye , Shoveler and Wigeon could be seen on most days. March saw us have rather a strange report which came onto the Birdlines after dark on 11th of two female Bearded Tit in small reedbed in front of the visitors centre. This species is a very scarce bird in Cheshire and would obviously be a first for the site. But doubt fell as three of us were at the Mere during the day and surely we would have heard or seen them , no body knows who called the record in and they were looked for at first light to no avail . If you are the person reading this who sent the report in PLEASE get in touch. Our first Chiffchaff was back on site on 12th with three birds singing. Jack Swan found our first Common Scoter of the year with a drake on 19th , the first Sand Martin was sighted on 26th and the first Blackcap back on 29th. April brought the rest of our summer migrants back as the weather warmed up , and a Common Sandpiper was found by John Spottiswood on 26th. Now we don't get many Terns at the mere full stop so to find five Black Terns and have five Common Terns on 30th was something special. May started good with another four Black Terns on the 1st , to put it into perspective that's nine Black Terns in two days and our last record was one bird eleven years ago in 2006. June was very quite but Andy found another drake Common Scoter on 29th and then again on 4th July but this time not one but 17 (11 females / 6 drakes) our biggest flock ever at the site. With a lot of other activities around the mere going on during July , August and September most birders tend to stay away as do most of the birds . I turn my attention to Butterflies , Dragonflies and Moths at this time of the year. Into October and while I was on holiday in Norfolk Mark Stubbs found our largest flock of Wigeon for many years with twenty three along with a single Pintail cheers Mark. And on 23rd a Aythya hybrid duck turned up causing some discussion until finally identified as a Tufted x Pochard. With the large influx of Hawfinch's coming from the continent it was only a matter of time , and on 30th our first site record appeared with a single bird . November saw Jack find another Hawfinch so that was two in eight days . and on the 27th a very late Swallow was hawking insects over the water. December saw 27 Pink-footed Geese over heading north west on 1st , while the Swallow was last recorded on 2nd by M Ball , D Winnington. Another skein of 175 Pink-footed Geese headed north west on 3rd , and on the 12th our second new species of the year for the site when a single Snipe was flushed from a fishing platform during a very cold spell. As we come to the end of the year twenty two Pochard have taken up residence and will hopefully stay with us throughout the winter , certainly not the higher numbers as in recent years when figure's reached into the hundreds. It can be very frustrating and certainly a challenge working a patch day after day as good birds are being found all around you and the temptation to go and see them hurts, but I have enjoyed recording the species at Astbury Mere and I still get such a buzz finding something special . Thanks to all who read this blog , thanks to all the birders that visit the mere . We now have a sightings board at the visitor's center thanks to the Rangers at the site , and if anyone is interested I could do with some help with recording Butterfly and Dragonfly sightings for next year . Birds seen in 2016 but not in 2017 are ...Scaup , Lesser Whitethroat and Common Whitethroat. The challenge for 2018 is to record 100 species of birds for the first time at the site in one single year and hopefully add a Butterfly or Dragonfly to the list. All it remains to say is HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL and hope all your wishes come true. If you see me out and about come say hello I don't bite. Good Birding for 2018.

December 28th

Twenty two Pochard on the mere this morning with around eighty five Tufted and good numbers of Coot . No sign of the Kingfisher this morning possibly it has moved back onto the canal . Redwing and Fieldfare are around in small numbers and a single Raven flew west. The female Goldeneye is still present along with the Aythya hybrid Tufted x Pochard. Long-tailed Tits , Goldcrest and Bullfinch can be found around most of the mere , but Nuthatch and Treecreeper are a little more elusive .

December 19th

Four Teal , 3 Wigeon , 151 Coot , 19 Pochard , 85 Tufted Duck , 9 Great Crested Grebe , female Goldeneye , single Little Grebe. John Spottiswood.........A large skien of Pink-feet flew over A34 just south of the mere heading west at 14-00 well over 100 birds Mark Stubbs. Mark and Tracey also had four Goosander over the mere late afternoon and a flock of 32 Goldfinch by the sailing club , and around 1000 Black Headed Gulls going to roost.

December 18th

A walk around in the fog this morning didn't produce a great deal but did manage to count the Coot with number's now upto 143. Also nineteen Pochard (5 females) and a single Raven over.

Snipe Site Record

With overnight temperature's around -6 and still snow on the ground from the day before there was a good bet that something new would be around. Snipe and Woodcock where on my mind with the freezing temprature's and Snipe it was , it seems strange that its never been recorded before or just possibly overlooked anyway its on the records books now . It was on one of the fishing platforms and by the time I got my bins onto it , it had took flight and to late to get a photo. Also present are nineteen Pochard ( 3 x fem / 16 drakes) , ten Teal (3 drakes / 7 fem) , 6 Wigeon (3 drakes / 3 fem) and a single female Goldeneye. Redwing were photographed in the snow this morning with eleven seen on the grass in front of visitors centre along with two Mistle Thrush and four Song Thrush , also two Nuthatch calling and photographed in the visitor's centre car park . Sparrowhawk patrolling overhead and a Grey Heron flushed from the shore. Seven Bullfinch looked stunning in the frost covered bushes but always out of reach of the camera. Jack had a single Lapwing over going east a scarce bird here at Astbury with only a few records each year.

Redwing.

Redwing.

Nuthatch.

December 8th

Female Goldeneye on the mere ...J Spottiswood.

December 4th

So the Swallow has finally moved on last sighting was Saturday the 2nd, it attracted a steady stream of admirer's over its six day stay. Fairly quiet this morning just a female Wigeon new in overnight . Pochard numbers are up by one but we have had a swap around as we now have four females and eight drake's all in the north west corner.The Aythya hybrid duck is still present and looking a lot different from when it first arrived . Around the mere this morning just the usual birds , Goldcrest , Kingfisher , Grey Wagtail , Raven , Great Spotted Woodpecker , Bullfinch etc.

Pink-footed Geese

Sitting at work around 15-10 I heard Pink-feet calling overhead , I quickly dashed outside to see a skien of around 175 birds flying towards Astbury Mere about half mile from were I work . I called Mark who I knew was there and sure enough around 175 plus birds flew over the mere heading north west. Mark and Jack could not find the Swallow today , but present were two drake Wigeon and three Raven over.

Part of the skien of Pink-feet going over the mere taken by Tracey Stubbs with her mobile phone . Nice one Tracey.

Swallow

Swallow still present at 13-30 thanks to M Ball , D Winnington.

Snow and Swallow

Somehow snow and freezing temprature's and Swallow in mid winter don't go together but in the birding world strange things do happen and today yes December at 8-45 in the morning we still have a Swallow at Astbury Mere . Its hawking god knows what over the water but seems healthy and settled . Also today we have seven Teal (3 drakes) , 68 Mallard , 117 Coot , 83 Tufted Duck and eight Great Crested Grebe . Also noted Grey Heron , Grey Wagtail and Raven. Twenty seven Pink-footed Geese flew over heading north west at  11-30 and Swallow still present mid day. Jack Swan. Swallow still present at 14-30 D Robinson. The Chiffchaff was seen again in same area by S & G Barber who thinks there could possibly be two birds.

Amazing Swallow

Amazingly at -2 temperature's this morning the Swallow is still hawking insects or whatever it's finding to eat in these conditions. Also present a drake Shoveler , three female Teal and 11 drake Pochard . Due to the colder conditions Tufted Duck , Coot and Mallard numbers are all well up . Swallow still present at 15-20 this afternoon Patrick Earith.

Request for Missing Dragonfly Records

We are missing some Dragonfly records for Astbury Mere for this year 2017 , Four-spotted Chaser , Black-tailed Skimmer , Emperor Dragonfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly . If anybody can help please get in touch with myself or a park Ranger who will pass the information on.

Request for Missing Butterfly Records

We are missing records for five Butterfly species for this year 2017 , has anybody seen any of the following at Astbury Mere . Small Copper , Green Hairstreak , Painted Lady , Clouded Yellow and Dingy Skipper. If you have seen any of the following please get in touch with either myself or one of the park Rangers who will pass on the information.

Swallow November 28th

Remarkably the Swallow is still present hawking whatever insects it can find over a cold mere this morning. It's now present for its second day and as the weather is turning colder there is a good chance if it don't move south soon it will not make it. Also noted this morning was the overwintering Chiffchaff feeding on the over hanging willows along the edge of the mere in the north west corner. The Kingfisher was seen again by Steve and Gill Barber . As the numbers increase daily we now have twelve Pochard eleven drake's and a single female.

Grebe or Diver

This is the time of year when just a brief glimpse can play tricks was it a Grebe or was it a Diver . In summer plumage there is no mistake but adult and juvenile Great Crested Grebe's in winter plumage with no ear tufts from a distance to the untrained eye can be misleading . Divers are on the whole a lot bigger bulker bird with a thick neck and bill . Below I have tried to put together some images hopefully to help people that are not familiar with Divers.

Juvenile Great Crested Grebe.

Red Throated Diver. ( Note slightly upturned bill of Red throated)

Black Throated Diver.

Great Northern Diver.

Swallow November 27th

An unbelievable late record of a Swallow hawking insects over the water this morning , I did a double take to make sure but yes sure enough it was a Swallow . I phoned Mark and Jack who both came down to have a look , it's undoubtedly our latest record ever at the site. Nine drake Pochard have now took up residence and on 23rd of the month Jack had two drake Teal and a female Goldeneye, and on the 20th five Wigeon. The Kingfisher is still around seen on a few occasions during the last week also the elusive overwintering Chiffchaff. Both Grey and Pied Wagtails are present and several Goldcrest seen this morning.

November 18th

Pretty quite this morning just eighteen Canada Geese over heading west , six drake Pochard still . Good numbers of Bullfinch around eight birds possibly more , along with Goldcrest , Treecreeper , Goldfinch and plenty of Long-tailed Tits.

November 15th

Six drake Pochard this morning along with 100 Coot , 73 Tufted Duck , 33 Mallard , eight Great Crested Grebe's and a single Little Grebe . Four Canada Geese flew over heading north , also noted Jay , Goldcrest , Grey Wagtail , Bullfinch , Greenfinch , Goldfinch and good numbers of Long-tailed Tits. The single overwintering Chiffchaff has been seen on three occasions now feeding on the overhanging Willows around the mere. You will find all the sightings on the information board situated on the wall at the visitor's centre.

Pochard Decline

We currently have four drake Pochard which hopefully will be joined by a few more as the weeks go by and stay with us for the winter period. It was a different story not so many years ago with counts at Astbury Mere above fourty during the winter period not uncommon. Numbers continue to fall both locally and also right across North West Europe . The UK breeding total is around 500 pairs , but during the winter it is estimated that around 59,000 arrive here from the breeding grounds in the east . Their long movements are explicable because the shallow waters that they favour are likely to be the first to freeze . The numbers reaching the UK have however dropped considerably in recent years as the warming climate allows more lakes and rivers in eastern Europe and Russia to remain ice free , so Pochard do not need to move as far. There is a strong differential migration with females moving farther south , probably due to the aggression from the earlier migration of males. But where both sexes share the same site the females hold their own and do not loose out on feeding opportunities . Pochard are largely an inland species and not so long ago most of the larger meres in Cheshire held good numbers of this scarce breeding bird. Pochard are primarily vegetarian , diving for their food in shallow water with abundant plant life although they do take small invertebrates .

November 13th

Another cold and frosty start this morning crisp underfoot . Not a great deal to mention pretty quite really the Aythya (Pochard X Tufted) is still present also a single Little Grebe and three drake Pochard . Tufted Duck numbers are holding steady with a count of 73 along with 100 Coot , and we still have eight Great Crested Grebe's present . A Grey Heron was fishing along the fisherman's side and a single Raven called overhead. Eight Bullfinch noted on my walk around also a couple of calling Goldcrest.

Goldeneye

Our first drake Goldeneye for three years was on the mere yesterday afternoon , we usually get a couple of females overwinter but it's nice to see a drake back will it stay!

Mike Atkinson Photography

A big thank you to local bird photographer Mike Atkinson for letting me use some of his suberb images for our web site. Look on the links section to view some of Mike's work he also runs Bird Photography tutorials a must for any up and coming bird photographer.

Aythya Hybrid

A interesting Aythya duck arrived just over two weeks ago on 23rd October. At first it kept its distance and identification was a little tricky , but over time it has become more confiding and the features of Pochard X Tufted Duck can clearly be seen . Hybrids can always prove a challenge until true parentage becomes obvious. The male of this pairing can be confused with Scaup but are generally smaller and can have a peaked head appearance . The Pochard influence makes the mantle and flanks darker , greyer and more solid looking than Scaup , while head may show a brown tint at close range. Unlike Scaup bill shows large black tip and wing stripe shows grey colouration characteristic of Pochard. Just look at the middle image and see how much the head colour can change at different angles.

November 8th

Looks like we have an overwintering Chiffchaff as one was calling then seen feeding in over hanging willows on the waters edge , just to the left of the sailing club this morning. Also noted were three Cormorants , single Grey Heron ,and only handful of Redwing passing overhead . A couple drake Pochard still present and two Raven overhead. The Aythya hybrid duck Pochard X Tufted Duck was showing really well early morning .

November 7th

Our second ever Hawfinch this morning found by Jack just after 7-30 along the top wood , just seven days after our first one. Eleven Teal were new in overnight and the four Pochard are still present. The Aythya Hybrid (Pochard X Tufted) was showing very well this morning so I managed to run off some more image's just for reference purposes as the plumage is changing. Twenty seven Redwing flew over heading east along with three Fieldfare and a single Stock Dove. The resident Sparrowhawk was seen on couple of occasions , and Pied and Grey Wagtails were on the sailing Club shoreline. Jack had a Great Black Backed Gull just after first light this morning leave the mere , this is the first confirmed record for over three years.

Aythya Hybrid (Pochard x Tufted).

November 6th

Nice little selection early morning , Fly overs included 317 Wood Pigeon , 7 Fieldfare , 13 Redwing , 2 Stock Dove , single Raven, 2 Lapwing , 3 Rook and 3 female Goosander . Also noted Grey Heron feeding along the fisherman's shore , three drake and a female Pochard , Little Grebe , Grey and Pied Wagtails , six Bullfinch , two Jay , Goldcrest , Nuthatch and Kingfisher.

Sightings Board

Sightings board up and running located at the visitor's center by the main doors.

November 2nd

Great Spotted Woodpecker , Coal Tit , Goldcrest and Treecreeper all in visitor's center car park this morning , also Siskin over. M Stubbs. Drake Pochard and Little Grebe on the mere and Aythya Duck still present .

November 1st

Brambling calling again as it flew over this morning this is the third time in the last four days now , so possibly feeding either around the mere or very close by. Also a single Cormorant over. M Stubbs.

Oct 31st

A juvenile Peregrine made three attempts at trying to take a Coot off the water at 7-30 this morning but failed miserably . We now have two female Pochard but no sign of yesterday's female Wigeon and Goldeneye . The Aythya type duck is still present and two Grey Wagtails were feeding by the sailing club. We should have our bird information board up this week just had my keys from Matt the ranger , also there will be more information on Duck counts , and monthly sightings etc inside the visitor's center.

Hawfinch site first

BOOM......Hawfinch flying over south at 7-30 . Whilst doing another Vis mig this morning a single Hawfinch flew south this is the first record for this species at the site . With hundreds daily reported on the birdlines moving through the country it was only a matter of time. Watched between 7-00 and 8-30 this morning it soon became obvious that there was not the numbers moving like yesterday . Total for one half hours was 434 Wood Pigeon , 31 Redwing , 11 Fieldfare , 16 Meadow Pipits , 4 Pied Wagtails , 2 Siskin , and a single Brambling . Also noted were a female Sparrowhawk , 5 Rook , 2 Grey Wagtail , 13 Goldfinch and a Grey Heron . A female Goldeneye flew in at 8-10 and was photographed also on the water was a female Wigeon and female Pochard .

Goldeneye (female).

Vis Mig this morning

Two and half hours at first light with Mark Stubbs produced 1200 plus Wood Pigeon , 87 Redwing , 23 Fieldfare , 92 Starling , 500 plus B H Gulls , 43 Lapwing , 36 L B B Gulls , 3 Siskin , 1 Brambling , 4 Meadow Pipits , 5 Rook , Sparrowhawk , 2 Tawny Owl , Kingfisher , 3 Grey Wagtail , 8 Pied Wagtails , Grey Heron , female Pochard and a drake Shoveler .......................................... To put the above into a bit more detail Mark arrived about fourty minutes before me while it was still dark and heard the two Tawny Owls calling and Pipistrelle Bats flying around. Just before I arrived he had Redwing calling overhead and then a Brambling. I arrived just as it was getting light and it was obvious that Wood Pigeons were moving in good numbers with small flocks of tens and twenties going over , we ended up with around 1200 birds. Redwing and Fieldfare started to appear with again small numbers of anywhere from four to ten birds at a time. Two Siskin flew over together then later another single appeared . Two counts of Lapwing with eight and then thirty five these are still scarce birds at the site with only a single being recorded this year. Four Meadow Pipits passed over again not regular at this site. And the Brambling record is only the second in last seventeen years. Small numbers of Starlings were also moving in total we had ninety two. Around 500 Black-headed Gulls also flew from there roosting site along with 36 Lesser Black Backed Gulls. All this took place during first two hours of daylight by 9-00 it had almost stopped.

October 26th

Tufted Duck numbers are still increasing possibly due to sailing club not sailing at present due to the amount of green algae on the water. A count of 86 this morning which is thirty plus more than last week . The Aythya hybrid duck is still present and we now have two Little Grebe's back hopefully they will winter here . There are eight Great Crested Grebe's that includes the three juveniles , also a good number of Black-headed Gulls this morning . Meadow Pipits and Skylark's flew over but not in any good numbers , also a single Raven , Buzzard and Sparrowhawk . Also noted this morning Kingfisher, Jay , Goldcrest , Bullfinch , Greenfinch , Chaffinch , Goldfinch and a party of twelve Long-tailed Tits.

Hybrid Link

Check out this link for Tufted x Pochard hybrids.................... birdhybrids.blogspot.co.uk

October 25th

Aythya Duck still present of which I took another set of images this time with better light. Also Kingfisher and Little Grebe along with a male Sparrowhawk and a single Grey Wagtail . Four Skylark and couple of Meadow Pipits passed over heading south along with a single Raven and two Cormorants . Four Goldcrest were amongst a large Long-tailed Tit flock which had at least 16 individuals .Still not had the first Redwings of the autumn yet with loads of berry laiden trees in the car park Iam sure it won't be long. Some images to follow later.

(male Sparrowhawk).

Aythya Hybrid .

Aythya Hybrid .

Aythya Hybrid

Second bite at the cherry today just had to see if I could get better images the light was against me but the bird was a lot closer, my thoughts now are Tufted / Pochard hybrid but I would love to be proved wrong. Identification of Tufted × Pochard hybrid male generally smaller than Scaup , with slightly peaked head appearance . Pochard influence makes mantle and flanks darker , greyer and more solid looking than Scaup's while head may show brown tint at close range . Unlike Scaup bill shows large black tip , wing bar often shows grey coloration . Whatever it is it's certainly interesting.

Interesting Aythya Duck

Scanning through the Tufted Ducks this morning I came across a Aythya duck that stopped me in my tracks , my fist thought was immature drake Greater Scaup but something wasn't right it seems to small , then immature drake Lesser Scaup went through my mind , having seen and found a couple over the years but then again they were slightly easier they were all adult drakes , but the head shape and bill don't look right. It certainly is interesting and could just be one of those Aythya Hybrids that never get solved possibly a Tufted / Pochard cross maybe. A few phone calls were made and it wasn't long before Andy , Mark and Jack turned up there after we had a lengthy discussion. Also noted today were Little Grebe , Kingfisher ,and passing overhead two Raven , 12 Skylark (scarce at the mere), single Meadow Pipit , Pied and Grey Wagtail .Images below are the best I could manage from the distance it was, it never came close at all. If it stays and moults out it might show its true identity, if anyone has any thoughts at all please get in touch .

Late Swallow's

Jack had six late Swallow's over the mere yesterday also a single Little Grebe.

Pochard Back

The first returning Pochard of the autumn have arrived back with a pair on the mere this morning . Also a Peregrine was seen attempting to catch Wood Pigeons on a couple of occasions but gave it up as a bad job and moved off east. Two Cormorant flew over heading south and a pair of Grey Wagtails were feeding along sailing club shore line. Also noted a single Jay , two Bullfinch and a count of 97 Coot so numbers still rising.

Peregrine .

Pochard (female).

Pochard (female).

Back to reality

After two weeks in Norfolk of Harrier's , Crane's and Owls etc it's now back to the the mere and reality. No sign of yesterday's female Goldeneye that Andy saw but duck numbers are increasing with 42× Mallard , 57×Tufted Duck and 63×Coot . Still a couple of pairs of Great Crested Grebe's with three juveniles and a single Canada Goose . 105× Wood Pigeon flew over in a single flock heading south but no sign as yet of any Redwings. Also noted were a couple of Jays and Rooks a single Bullfinch and a Grey Wagtail feeding along the shoreline . Like I said earlier back to reality with a bang !

Goldeneye

The first Goldeneye of the autumn was found today by A Goodwin , also a single singing Chiffchaff.

Wildfowl

Twenty three Wigeon and a female type Pintail at the mere this afternoon , M Stubbs. Both these species are scarce at this site and the Pintail record being only the second in last ten years.

Dragons Added

I have just been passed some old Dragonfly records from the Cheshire county recorder and we can add Blue-tailed Damselfly and Black-tailed Skimmer to the site list. I am still in Norfolk for another week , so hopefully update site on my return. Some good news from Matt the ranger we are being allowed a sightings information board which the trust is kindly paying for . And it will be fixed on the wall of the visitor's centre and hopefully myself and a couple of birding colleagues will be able to keep it updated on a regular basis. Many thanks to David Kitching for the Dragonfly information , and a big thank you to the Trustees of Astbury for agreeing and funding our wildlife information board.

Moth Nights

Their are no more moth nights planned this year but hopefully will continue next spring with at least one a month through untill Autumn watch this space.

Missing Records

Has anyone seen these three little beauties during past twenty years or so at the site, as there are no records for them at all . Small Heath , Wall and Dark-green Fritillary. Images below to jog your memory.

Small Heath.

Wall.

Dark-green Fritillary.

Bats and Migration

Met up with Mark just after 6-00 this morning and this time he had his bat detector . We had good numbers of Soprano Pipistrelle flying around our heads along with common Pipistrelle and also picked up the calls of Brown Long-eared and Noctule. Mark thought he had Daubentens aswell but not 100% sure so we left of the list , so we do have all five of the common species here at Astbury . It was then getting light so decided to have couple hours watching the skies for any signs of migration . We had 27 Meadow Pipits , 10 Swallow , 3 Grey Wagtail , 3 Pied Wagtails and two possible Stock Dove and five Greylag Geese all heading south . A flock of 45 Mallard arrived obviously disturbed from another water close by . Three Sparrowhawk in the air together possibly adults and a single juvenile or could possibly have been three juveniles but to far away to confirm , also three Rook flew south not a common site here . The now resident Kingfisher made several fly bye's , four Cormorant flew straight over and another single dropped onto the water . A single Grey Heron was disturbed by fisherman , still several Chiffchaff calling along with Bullfinch and Goldcrest . And Mark had Buzzard over which I missed , so all in all not a bad couple of hours at the Mere.

Bat Walk

Mark walked around at half-light this morning and came across 13 small Pipistrelle Bats which were either Common or Soprano . He said he could not rule out others like Long-eared , Noctule and Daubentens. I think Mark is intending to go back early one morning with a bat detector to find out what is exactly there.

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtails are not that common at the mere but there is a pair that breed nearby and visit on occasions. So it was nice to be able to capture this juvenile in some nice early morning light on the sailing club beach. Also noted this morning were several Chiffchaff still singing , a single Raven over and the Kingfisher still present. Mark Stubbs had a walk around mid-morning and picked up Meadow Pipits, Great Spotted Woodpecker , Nuthatch , Jay , two Buzzard's and Goldcrest . Butterflies noted two Comma , Speckled Wood and Small Tortoiseshell.