The Bird Blog - March 2024

29th March

The month of March has nearly come to an end and Spring is really under way. The Snowdrops have finished flowering, Primroses are coming into bloom and in the more shaded areas of the arboretum plenty of Wild Garlic can be found.

At the beginning of this month just as I was about to give up hope I at last saw a small flock of Redwing. Six of them moving quickly through a stand of Hawthorn calling to one another before flying off out of the arboretum.

The amount of bird song I am hearing has increased significantly. Blue Tits, Great Tits, Nuthatches, Song Thrush and Blackbird can all be heard regularly and in the middle of the month to this cacophony of sound was added the call of the Chiffchaff.

Hopefully before too long this chorus will also be joined by the song of two more Warblers, the Blackcap and the Willow Warbler.

Once more I also heard and saw two Raven and again this was in the vicinity of the two Redwood trees. In addition to this on other visits I saw two Common Buzzard calling to each other as they soared over head. Both these species associated with more remote and windswept landscapes rather than that found in suburban Leicestershire!

In relation to the ponds. I have continued to see two Moorhen as well as a male and female Mallard Duck. Hopefully these are both breeding pairs and are now actively looking for potential sites to build their nests. The Jackdaw seen exploring large trees for prospective places to nest, have now been observed carrying nesting materials into a large cavity in one of the boughs of an Ash tree in the vicinity of the ponds. In addition to this several people have also told me they have seen the nest boxes that are distributed around the arboretum being inspected by prospective tenants.

I have continued to enjoy good views of both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Goldcrest, Greenfinch and a first for me in the arboretum, Siskin.

After seeing these small attractive finches several times, I also had these birds join the regular flock of Goldfinch to visit the feeders in my garden.

For those of you who may be interested in bird migration. Osprey having spent the Winter in West Africa have now returning to Rutland Water to breed and as I mentioned in a previous blog; the Cuckoo being monitored by the British Trust for Ornithology are now moving to Ghana and the Ivory Coast in preparation for crossing the Sahara Desert on their return journey to breeding grounds in the British Isles and Ireland.

Phil Taylor