Kestrel Pair - Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler? - Long-tailed Tit

 The Male Kestrel

and the Female.

Chiffchaff? 

Long-tailed Tit

Bat Box Roost (Approx. 90CM x 50CM x 10CM)

The Bat box / Roosting site went up today; as with the other boxes I have made, I used exterior grade plywood. I lined the landing plate and inside crawl spaces with mesh to enable the bats to grip the otherwise too smooth surface.  It has an asphalt roof to keep the weather out, and was only treated on the outside with wood preserver, as bats are sensitive to chemicals. I will be monitoring the roost over the coming weeks to see if we get any takers!  Once bats move in, then they have a secure tenancy as its illegal to disturb bats without a license.  This roost is situated on an Oak near the pond with an open access route at the from for them to enter and exit the roost.  I saw bats at dusk flying over the pond last year in the summer so know they are about. - I'm working on the 'Built it and they will come' philosophy. 

I made three woodpecker nest boxes yesterday and this is the last of the three going up. I deliberately covered up the entrance hole with a glued cardboard disk, so I could see if any birds found the box and pecked their way in.  Two of the three boxes I put up have been opened in the last 24 hours!  This morning I woke to the sound of a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming on a tree outside my bedroom window and today the Green woodpeckers have been very vocal and active in the surrounding trees and grassland, so I think the boxes will be put to good use fairly soon. 

As I was putting up one of the boxes, I noticed the pair of Kestrels sitting at the front of the Barn Owl box, the male flew off but the female stayed long enough to allow me to take this picture from a long way away (hence the poor image). Will they use the Barny box to nest and ignore the brand new Kestrel box I put up just a couple of days ago? - I guess its a step up from the rock doves that nested here last year. 

Question: What's better than a Kestrel? Answer: A pair of Kestrels!

Yesterday I made a shallow bird bath/drinking station with a seed feeder built into one end and set it up at the eastern edge of the coppice next to the veggie patch. I wanted to wait a few days before attempting to take pictures of the birds drinking and washing. Because I'm impatient, and while waiting for the birds to become accustomed to the bathing station, I decided to set up the pop-up hide under a nearby yew tree in the hope that they would also accept the hide  after a day or so. 

I was thinking along the lines of wrens, robins, fiches and tits being the likely visitors as they are fairly abundant at LBF. I was curious to see how long it would take until the birds felt comfortable to take a dip, so I set up the trail camera to check in and see when the birds actually start to use their new ensuite bathroom. Once the birds were settled, I fully intended to spend some quality time in the hide with my new (refurbished) Nikon D500 Camera and my new (refurbished) Nikon 200-500 zoom lens!  

So today (Day 2), it was a cold and misty so I did not bother to check the camera trap until about 1pm and did not expect to find much.  On checking the footage (with the camera trap still strapped to the tree), the first three video clips were disappointing because the camera lens was misted up, so I promptly deleted the videos. I could see from the still previews that the fourth and fifth videos had managed to capture a Jay and a Great Tit and the misted up lens had started to clear... I felt a little happier.

When I saw the preview screen of the sixth video, I became very excited, I could clearly see an image of a bird of prey but could not tell if it was a Buzzard, Kestrel or Sparrowhawk. The preview screen is tiny about 2" x 1.5" so it's not easy to see in any great detail; it was with growing excitement  I pressed the playback button on video six...  The results are in the video below, enjoy! Feel free to watch this beautiful pair in full screen mode. 

Let's hope they come back on a day that I am in the hide with my Nikon! The camera shows that the birds were there at 10.15 am so it will be interesting to see if they the birds keep a regular wash time and show up at a similar time tomorrow.

Short clip of the Jay in slow motion flight.