Brightening Up - Before the cold!

A little bundle of joy, a Long-tailed Tit


A sketchy image for a planned painting


The Great-spotted Woodpecker this morning, surveying drumming posts

I don't think the birds have quite sussed out the weather this week ! Due to turn nasty this weekend, today I was greeted with many birds in full song and lots of activity indicating many species think Spring is just around the corner. The Woodpeckers, both Green and Great-spotted are very active and vocal and it can only be a matter of time before the territorial drumming start. The Kingfishers have also been zipping around all over the place and are presumably surveying potential nest sites, they'll stop that idea when it snows at the weekend! There are still a few winter thrushes around but generally most stuff seems to have moved through for the time being. Entertained myself with the ever present but totally brilliant Long-tailed Tits flock as they tumble about looking for insects in amongst the bark. Its always worth looking through them as well as attracting other tit species, there's always a chance of a wintering warbler or other little gems like Firecrest, sadly no sign since the heard only.

Aylestone Meadows - Moody Days Two!

The Lock Keepers Cottage/Cafe, Kings Lock - Unfortunately closed during the winter, just when you need a cup of tea!


The Old Packhorse Bridge, dating back to the 1500's and looking a little dramatic today!

Aylestone Meadows - Moody Days!

The Boardwalk with a hint of the Kingfisher Pool


A Male Bullfinch, the only "pink" I want to see on the meadows!

Well not that moody really, it's actually been very good. The bulk of the thrushes seem to have cleared out and surprisingly you hardly hear even a Redwing at the moment. I've done both sections in the last couple of days. Yesterday, whilst watching the rather elusive Willow Tits which are moving around with the bulk of the Tit flock, a female Sparrowhawk came through and all hell broke loose. In amongst the alarm calls the distinctive rising notes of a disturbed Firecrest, a gem of a bird and a species rarely recorded in the county. Sadly, for me anyway, I couldn't see it in the densest bramble thicket but over the next few days I hope I'll get a glimpse. It appears to be moving around with the roving tit flock rather than wintering Goldcrests, so keep a look out for the distinctive eyestripe and bronze shoulders. The Kingfishers are still pretty active and can be seen anywhere along the boardwalk at the moment but especially around the pool midway. In the Southern section apart from an amazing array of feral geese including a Swan Goose (bizarre) there is a large finch flock numbering around 130 birds between Asda and the Grand Union which is well worth a look. Equally good is another mixed flock of Finches and Buntings in the northern section, especially concentrated around the abandoned road between the main car park and the sports ground. There are both Siskins and Reed Bunting amongst the more usual Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch.

Aylestone Meadows - Problems with Urban Birding

Today would have been a good day. The weather is reasonably clear and bright with a slight southerly wind. In a Southerly you should always check the sheltered areas on the north side of the scrubby patches as bird activity tends to concentrate here. The problem with the Aylestone Meadows on nice days is its magnetic ability to draw in the gay cruising fraternity who also favour the sheltered edges and the best habitat. This generally means it's a no go unless your wearing a pair of trousers that only Houdini could get out of. Type Aylestone Meadows into Google and see what comes up, Today is a busy day!
Undetered, I decided to do the boardwalk and try and get some shots of the kingfisher which has been frequenting the pools on a regular basis. What do I get for my efforts ? One Black Rabbit, a poor shot of a winter plumaged Reed Bunting and a middle-aged glue sniffer practising Jackie Chan moves!

Aylestone Meadows - Checkout the Hairdo!

After a hard morning fishing the Biam

Aylestone Meadows - More Goosander

Three Drakes and a Duck!

Drake Goosander

Male Goosander, River Biam

Goosanders, Aylestone Meadows

A Pair, Check out the snazzy legs!

Aylestone Meadows - More Goosander

A clear but cold day with only the wind to put the dampers on things. Thought I'd go and have another go at the Goosander which proved a bit more elusive and mobile today. They seem to be moving between the Biam and their regular pools around the southern section but I eventually found four of them chilling out on the bathing pool. Goosander is a member of the Sawbills, so called because of the tooth like serrations along the cutting edges of the bill enabling a better grip of their main prey, fish. They are expert divers and chasers and the Biam is perfect as it's loaded with small fry. These birds are probably Scottish or Scandinavian where they breed on lakes and slow rivers in forested areas, requiring mature trees with holes for nesting. With luck they'll be around for at least a month or so. It was good to see a flock of 70 or so Lapwing also using the pools and one of last years young Buzzards making a nuisance of himself and the gulls nervous.

Goosanders, Aylestone Meadows

What a miserable day! Despite a fairly extensive check of the area, the weather has beaten me today. There's nothing worse than having to constantly wipe condensation of your optics. It's also very poor for photography but as I'd located some Goosander including some spanking males I thought I may as well have a go anyway. There are at least six around at the moment but they are moving around both sections of the meadows so it's a matter of pot luck. This pair, the male is stunningly pink below believe it or not, together with a Pochard, were photographed on the River Biam this morning. Apologies for the poor quality, ISO 800 due to the light, so it's very grainy but I'll have another go when conditions improve.

Should have kept my mouth shut!

Yesterday I made the unfortunate mistake of stating 'mild winter' as today is, well, bloody freezing! The pools along the boardwalk are frozen and it looks like we're in for a bit of a cold snap. Heard but didn't see the Kingfishers this morning as I was looking for the Goosander along the Biam. He's also moved on, but probably not far. There is often a group up on the pools either behind the Whetstone Tip or on the large ornamental pool opposite Enderby Police Station or even Freemans Weir which has had its fair share of good ducks! Two Herons, the Woodpeckers and regular flybys from our resident Sparrowhawks where the only notable birds along the boardwalk. The most evident bird today seem to be the Bullfinch with its dapper red underparts and graphic black, white and grey uppers. Regular visitors to the meadows probably take these birds for granted but really shouldn't. On a clear, frosty morning, there is nothing as striking as a group perched up in open and I don't know anywhere where they are as easy to see. There are two big groups knocking around at the moment, one favour's the bramble bank close to the boardwalk near the steel container and the other regularly along the closed road that runs from the car park (off Aylestone Road) to the football fields. Very nice, have a look!

Also, if you have time, check out this link, the BBC's view of our urban gem!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/nature/uk/record/1356

Welcome

Welcome to my online diary of wildlife observations made on Leicester's finest urban reserve/wild patch, the Aylestone Meadows. I have been watching wildlife, particularly birds here for almost thirty years and have seen many changes, both positive and negative over the period. I felt, that as I'm out there at least once a day, I should write it all down and a blog seems the most beneficial technique to reach a wider audience. Once I've worked out a few technical problems with maps etc, the blog should improve.

I tend to divide the Aylestone Meadows into two sections, the "Northern", my home patch as it were, runs from Freeman's Weir south to Middleton Street and includes the boardwalk, the gas towers and the maturing plantations. The "Southern" section I regard as Middleton Street south to the back of Whetstone Tip and includes all the rough pasture between Packhorse Bridge, Fosse Park and the Tip Pools. I tend to do the "southern" bit less regularly and primarily during migration periods.

Today I walked around the "Northern" bit which initially appeared very quiet. There are still plenty of wintering thrushes, particularly Redwings roving about looking for berries. There are a few Fieldfares with them but I suspect the bulk of these are still around the Kings Lock area as they seem to prefer more windblown habitat. Blackbird numbers are still high and both Mistle and Song Thrushes are very evident at the moment. The Kingfishers have been showing well, particularly around the pebble beach area and the pools along the boardwalk and hopefully, with a mild winter will continue to do so. There are a couple of Jays, an unusual record for the Meadows, still knocking around the mature poplars along the edge of the boardwalk. There is a group of around 10 Reed Buntings which are often around the scrubby areas near the main car park, this is an unusually high number for the area at this time of year. The Willow Tits are still around and are particularly vocal at the moment as are both the Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. If you are walking in the area, keep an eye out for the Buzzards which seem to be making daily flyovers all the way up to the Walkers Stadium. Bird of the day has to go to a superb drake Goosander, a wintering sawbilled duck which is currently looking for fish on the River Biam, close to the boardwalk.