It was a sunny, chilly and frosty morning with the temperature warming up gradually between 7.05am and 8.10am. A Virgin hot-air balloon took off from the Playing Fields as I approached the Lake.
2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers chased each other around one of the Larches along Laurel Walk. A Chiff Chaff sang from behind the Park & Ride, and another sang from the Wet Woodland. A Cormorant flew onto the Lake. A Chiff Chaff sang from the Marsh Alders. In the Scrub were a cock and a hen Pheasant, a Jay, a female Kestrel, 2 Woodpigeon, 1 Green Woodpecker, a Blackbird and surprisingly, a pair of Mallard. A drake Mallard was in the Meadow, plus 3 Linnets which on my arrival flew east. In the East Hedge were 3 Blue Tits, 3 Robins, 1 Dunnock and 1 Green Woodpecker. A Pheasant called and a Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed from Len Wood.
A scan of the Lake produced 5 Great Crested Grebes, a pair of Tufted Duck, and 8 Mute Swans, together with the usual Canada Geese, Mallard, Coots and Moorhens. There was a flock of Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls also on the Lake. A flock of 7 Herring Gulls flew east.
A total of 4 Chiff Chaffs were singing throughout the visit. 3 Blackcaps were also singing. There were still lots of fry in the Len by the ‘Kingfisher’ Bridge.
Hi, my name is Simon. My local patch is Mote Park, one of Kent’s largest parks and right on the edge of Maidstone, the county town of Kent. It is a former country estate, and records of the Park date back since before the 14th century. The park has a variety of habitats and this blog will note all the wildlife that I encounter in them.
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