The Safari has been out most days this week. Most mornings we've been round Patch 1 at the crack of dawn mostly counting the Blackbirds, Robins and Wrens we come across. The other day we had a 'good' count of three Moorhens although with two juveniles around there should really be at least four present, and a singing Chiffchaff was a nice bonus to the usual 'extras' of Goldcrest(s) and/or Coal Tit(s).
Visible migration has been slow to get going, Patch 1 has only given us a single Chaffinch and a couple of Greenfinches which could have been local birds although we rarely see them in or over the park and these were quite high 'overs'. The same morning as the singing Chiffchaff we had one grounded at Base Camp too.
'Vis mig' over Base Camp has been limited to a solitary Meadow Pipit - where are they all??? - and a few skeins, up to a maximum of about 55 birds, of Pink Footed Geese. A Golden Plover flying over during an annoying Monty wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-take-me-out-for-a-pee-NOW was a bonus! We've probably had more Red Admirals migrating through the Patch than birds this week, there certainly seems to be a good number of them about.
After breakfast a morning saunter round Marton Mere reserve started at the lively Feeding Station. Good numbers of Chaffinches, Blue and Great Tits and an acrobatic Grey Squirrel doing its best to squeeze at least a nose between the anti-squirrel wires around the feeder.
Along the path a Rabbit crouched motionless on the recently cut meadow area hoping Monty didn't spot it - we were hoping that too and holding on tight just in case he did! Fortunately for the Rabbit and our arm he didn't we were able to walk right past it within only a few feet without it being noticed by the Monster.
All pretty quiet around the reserve with only a lone Meadow Pipit and a couple of Skylarks heard passing overhead. Down at the Viewing Platform we heard a Water Rail squeal and a the first of half a dozen Cetti's Warblers sing a quick blast.
A sneaky peek under the refugium gave us our third mammal species of the morning in the shape of our first Short Tailed Field Vole of the year not counting the one being carried aloft by a Buzzard at Leighton Moss earlier in the summer. Also under there were a couple of Great Crested Newts, always good to see and especially good to see a juvenile even if it was trying to do a runner.
We gently picked it up and positioned it on a leaf for a better pic. The adult is a male, told by the white stripe down the centre of the tail which they wave amorously in front of the females during courtship. Seeing the juvenile was good news as it means we've had some local breeding success especially as the surveys undertaken earlier in the year came back negative and with worrying news that most of the ponds looked at had been stirred up so badly by dogs that they were now unsuitable for the newts to breed in - if the water's too turbid the females can't see those frantically waving tails!
A Sparrowhawk and a brief glimpse of a Reed Warbler at the Heron Hide broke the monotony but then as we were leaving we heard a rustle in the long grass to the side of the hide. We could see the grass being disturbed by something fairly large at times too. Crikey! A family of Stoats exploded in to full view for a few milliseconds before vanishing back in to the undergrowth - excellent views if so fleetingly brief. We've not seen a Stoat for soooooo long so to see at least three was great - and our fourth mammal of the morning. A Goldcrest called from a nearby Willow too.
At the Fylde Bird Club Hide the view is still a bit hindered by the summer's Reed growth, need a strimmer, a large flock of roosting Starlings and/or another good gale to knock them down a bit.
Not a lot about, the usual suspects of Mallard, Coot and a couple of Gadwall with a fly-over Snipe. But then what's that big duck asleep over the far side - blimey a Pintail, (MMLNR #80). It's been a while since we caught up with one of those here too it was turning in to a decentish sort of a day! Shame it slept motionless all the time we were there, probably only dropped in from Iceland or the far north of Europe, perhaps even further afield, earlier that morning.
Moving on it was good to see the Snake's Head Fritillary meadow had been mown, lots of Meadow Cranesbill and Agrimony are present too but the number of Cowslips seems to be declining a bit. Perhaps due to the meadow become inundated with Common Reed for much of the summer.
The following morning dawned rather chilly, the coldest morning since the end of last winter.
The cold hadn't brought anything new to Patch 1 though. After breakfast we set off east down the country roads to a little river we know. Looking downstream from the bridge it looks like this and moments later a Kingfisher sped through and straight under the bridge and out of sight.
Our gaze followed the Kingfisher and fell upon our hoped for quarry for the day. A Dipper was feeding a few yards beyond the far side of the bridge - a little distant but hey ho at least Dipper (YBC #151) makes it on to our Year Bird Challenge tally doing what they do best - dipping!
Perhaps we might get a closer shot downstream so off we went passing a few Robins and a small flock of Long Tailed Tits as we walked along the river bank.
We got all the way to the end and only managed to flush another distant Dipper. On the way back we spotted another, quite likely the same one, that hadn't spotted us so we secreted ourself behind a tree and waited for it to walk/swim up the stream a bit and in to view. Thankfully it obliged.
Back at the bridge our first Dipper was nowhere to be seen but a Grey Wagtail flew down and had a bob around on a rock mid-stream.
This morning we went back to the nature reserve but it was desperately quiet. Looking under the refugium again had us disturbing the Short Tailed Field Vole again but now there were three juvenile Great Crested Newts - nice. As we hadn't made a note or taken a pic of the underside of the one the other day it was impossible to tell if one of these was that one or if none of these three were that one.
The best of the rest was a passing Mistle Thrush and we didn't even see a Blackbird all morning - told you it was quiet!
So quiet the next best thing we found was a fresh Shaggy Ink Cap fungus. 
It didn't help when later we discovered we didn't quite stay long enough to see the Otter and a couple of Ravens, a species which has become much more numerous in the local area but which we've still not seen there. Dohhhhh!!! can't win em all!
Where to next? We'll be out somewhere tomorrow but we're not sure where yet -0 could well be weather dependent.
In the meantime let us know who's doing the dipping in your outback.
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