I probably have a blog post titled 'Kes' every year after I have ringed the Kestrel chicks at our friend's farm near Garstang, but that doesn't matter, as I think they are such fantastic birds, and I always appreciate the opportunity that I have to have a glimpse into their world, it is a real privilege.
Just under a week ago, Gail and I were back at Robert and Diana's farm to check on the progress of the Kestrel chicks. If you remember, the week before, they were too small to ring and there was still one egg. On this recent visit the four young were now big enough to be ringed, and there was still one egg that won't hatch now. All four chicks were duly ringed, and you can see a picture of one of the chicks below.
Kestrel nests (usually in a box, but I have ringed Kestrels when they have been using an old Carrion Crow's nest) are quite messy affairs, and the nest is often littered with the remains of prey items. This is usually small mammals, with the odd Common Lizard perhaps, but in this box, there was a dead Great Tit that had probably been brought in by the adult shortly before we checked the box. As Gail and I came away from the box, the female was coming in with what looked like a young Rat, so the chicks are being well provisioned.
We moved on to the Stock Doves that are nesting in a box that we put up for Tawny Owls. Again, they were too small to ring, but today they were a perfect size. You can see a picture of one of the chicks below.
This morning Gail and I had a walk along the quay, and it was glorious in the warm sunshine. There were at least three pairs of House Sparrows foraging in the vegetation next to the path, and I assumed that they were looking for invertebrates to feed a second brood.
We heard the Swallows that nest in some of the boat wrecks alarm calling, and we turned round to see a Kestrel perched on top of one of the masts being 'buzzed' by at least six Swallows. It wasn't long before the Swallows drove the Kestrel away.
Out on the mud six Shelducks fed, and they'll soon be on their way to their moulting grounds. Four Grey Herons were feeding along the water's edge of the river, and 94 Oystercatchers flew upstream.
A number of jellyfish were stranded out on the mud, and the example in the picture was quite large. It was quite distant, but we thought that it was a Barrel Jellyfish.
In the warm weather a few common butterflies were on the wing in the form of a Red Admiral, two Small Whites, three Meadow Browns and a Common Blue. In addition to the butterflies, were three Cinnabar Moths on the wing as well.
We also looked at the plants, and recorded two new species for the year, and these were Rosebay Willowherb and Common Knapweed. I think our plant list for this site is at 61 species now.
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