Spring is now well advanced, and for the resident birds the breeding season is well under way.  As usual, a pair of Great Crested Grebes bred early, and produced five young, which is an unusually large number.  Grebes are unusual in having young which are completely and bizarrely different from the adults, being striped black and white.  They also start life on the back of one of the parents, the earliest arrivals sitting there while the parent continues to brood the remaining eggs.  This photograph was taken after the first two had fledged. 

Another pair has bred on Richardson’s Lake, with two young.

 There are also plenty of young Mallard around. 

Among the local residents, the non-flying Egyptian Goose continues to thrive.  This was one of a brood raised on Marsh Farm last year which developed a condition called Angel Wing in which the wing joint becomes deformed and part of it sticks out sideways.  The bird has been christened Ali Ben Twing (sorry).  The cause of the condition is thought to be a high protein diet (too many boilies!).  It has successfully avoided predators by roosting on one of the islands every night and is now teeming up with another Egyptian Goose which has only one foot; they are not the prettiest of couples.

 Many of the summer migrants have arrived, with Swifts, House Martins and Swallows overhead.  Swifts are all dark with scimitar-like wings, and they scream as they fly.  Swallows are more graceful, with long tail streamers and are pale below.  House Martins are comparatively dumpy, look very black and white, and have a conspicuous white rump.

 Common Terns have also arrived, and are visiting the lakes frequently, and two have been showing courtship behaviour, in which the male catches a small fish and presents it to the female.  However, there is no suitable breeding site for them.  They are elegant birds, like slim small gulls, and mariners call them sea-swallows.  They feed by diving to catch small fish at or just below the surface of the water and at this time of the year males can often be seen catching fish and carrying them off to present to the female as part of the courtship ritual.     

 The planting of reeds and reedmace around the lakes at Marsh Farm proved attractive to Reed Warbler and Sedge Warblers last year.  Both are sparrow-sized summed visitors, and the Reed Warbler is plain light brown above and pale below.  It has few distinguishing features.  There are now two Reed Warblers singing on Richardson’s Lake and one on Harris Lake.

 
As its name implies, it is largely confined to reeds.  Its song is a long succession of mainly harsh and mechanical sounding notes interspersed with occasional whistles.  It can sing uninterrupted for long periods, particularly at dawn and dusk.

The Sedge Warbler is also brown above and paler below, but in contrast to the Reed Warbler it is quite heavily striped, and shows a very large and obvious stripe above the eyes.  It is less confined to reeds that the Reed Warbler, and often prefers dank vegetation.  There are none at the lakes this spring, they may not make an appearance until birds begin to disperse after the breeding season. 

 
Its song is not unlike the Reed Warbler’s song, but is less repetitive, has many more sweet notes, and often contains mimicry of other birds. 

Another bird currently breeding in the vegetation around the lakes is the Reed Bunting, another sparrow-sized bird, but one that remains here for the winter.  The breeding male is unmistakeable, with a jet black head, a broad white collar and chestnut wings.  Despite its striking looks, it has one of the most unremarkable songs of all birds, just a feeble sort of rattle or trill.  The female is a lot less conspicuous, lacking the black head and white collar.

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Spring Pictures (2005)

The Mute Swans have finally produced a brood of four signets and they are doing well
Description
Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
The mute swan is a very large white waterbird. It has a long S-shaped neck, and an orange bill with black at the base of it. Flies with its neck extended and regular slow wingbeats. The population in the UK has increased recently. Some birds stay in their territories all year, while others move short distances and form winter flocks. In cold weather, some birds arrive from Europe into eastern England.