Recent rain in Gloucester hasn’t raised water levels at the GWT reserve at Coombe Hill; the north scrape is completely dry, and the south scrape is almost dry – just a dribble of water left yesterday 29 July. There is still water on the Long Pool however, though the Long Pool hide is closed (as in previous years at this time), because of a hornet’s nest.
Interesting stuff however: at first sight, there were no birds on the north or south scrapes. But occasional Little Ringed Plover calls could be heard from the Grundon Hide; after a while these became ever more anxious, as two Kestrels landed in the short aquatic vegetation in the north scrape; the Kestrels appeared to be an adult female accompanied by a juvenile, probably recently out of the nest, and were clearly hunting on the ground. The adult LRP kept running around on the floor of the scrape, then undertaking nervous circular flights round and round; the chicks (which ought to be fledged by now, as they were first seen on 3 July and someone recorded them during the week as fledged) never showed any sign of flying and stayed round the scrape – there was no sign of LRPs on the Long Pool. Not sure what the outcome was: the Kestrels were never seen actually to catch any prey, while the chicks were never seen to emerge from the vegetation unscathed.
Surprising, on one hand that the chicks didn’t try to fly, but just lay doggo, on the ground; they can’t yet be confident of flying away; and on the other that Kestrels were trying to catch them on the ground: any other raptor, you might have thought, but surely the windhover is an aerial predator.
Otherwise, mostly on the Long Pool, which still attracts passing waterbirds: eight unringed Canada Geese, 100 Mallard, 180 Lapwings, five Green Sandpipers, and two Snipe; still at least eight Sedge Warblers (generally churring rather than singing) in the thick ditch side vegetation through the reserve.
And lots of wild flowers now; Corky-fruited Water Dropwort and Flowering Rush among others