Monday 16 April 2012

First Eggs

I was surveying farmland in the salad growing area of west Lancs today and this land is intensively managed due to the nature of the crops, and consequently birds were a little thin on the ground. This isn't a criticism at all it's just how it is in this area.

I could tell that there was some movement going on as I had Linnets, Goldfinch, Lesser Redpolls and Meadow Pipits heading north in small numbers. There was an obvious increase in the numbers of Swallows around as I was seeing several perched on telegraph wires around the farms.

I was looking at a small irrigation pond in the corner of a field that had been colonised in one corner by a small patch of Reed Mace. I was just photographing this for the report I will be subsequently writing when I saw a Moorhen slip off her nest. I looked down and I could see that she was incubating three eggs.

The irrigation pond in its agricultural setting

The patch of Reed Mace

Moorhen nest and eggs

The weather synopsis looks potentially good for dropping a few migrants here in the Northwest tomorrow and as I have a report writing day planned for tomorrow I should be able to get out for a couple of hours in the morning. As always the timing of the front coming in will be crucial and if it comes in too soon there will be nothing! If I haven't posted anything tomorrow then you will know that it was the latter that happened!

2 comments:

theconstantwalker said...

Wonderful to see... I have Robins in my little garden which have been carrying nesting material into an ivy covered old tree stump.
I don't dare to have a peek in case I disturb them.

The Hairy Birder said...

There to good to have as a breeding bird in your garden Andrew.